The Lust for Little Things

There is a problem using the word "lust" in a piece like this. This problem lies in the fact that in the English language, "lust" almost always has dark, negative connotations. This is not true in other languages. In common Greek, the word for "lust" and "strong desire" is the same. Context means all. So, in my use of the word, I mean "strong desire" or "over-powering drive." Context means everything.

What I am urging is this: We must replace our lusts for those things that are most commonly the objects of our strong desires, sex, money, power, fame, etc.- things are are usually destructive- with a an over-powering desire for and appreciation of the little, common-home-and-garden blessings and gifts of our daily lives. These are things that enhance our lives and make us a blessing and gift to others.

In one way, all of this comes down to what visual artists call "seeing." The painter is engaged with the world as one who "sees" what is in front of her. She is aware that she comes to the world full of conceptions of it, that is, mental ideas. But, in order to depict the world before her, she must put aside her mental ideas and really and deeply observe. When she successfully moves from conception to perception (from the left brain to the right brain), the world and the objects that are the stuff of the world begin to show themselves in their wonder and mystery. Something similar takes place in the life and brain of the successful field-biologist.

We must learn to "see" in this way- though I use "see" to encompass all the senses. We must take the time to be quiet, to look, listen, smell, touch and taste the world we are in.

We must take time. We are too much in a hurry and those who rush through life pursuing a variety of goals very often achieve their goals while missing life. Think of that morning cup of coffee. We may gulp it down or pour it into the travel mug for the commute. But, what a difference there is to take the time to savor it, and, better, to savor it with a loved-one or friend.

We must engage all our senses, connecting with the morning light, the birdsong, the new growth in the garden, and the voice or fresh-showered smell of a lover.

The best things in life are free. They are also carefree. Nature, family, friends, books, music, food and drink, honest work, gardening, sports, play,the family dog or cat, and on and on... These are things available to us all. They are among the things that John Berryman calls "the quotidian miracle."

The more enamored of these little quotidian things we are, the more we shall see their compulsive power to eject from our lives those darker, destructive impulses.

And for the Christian believer there is more. The Giver of all these things is the God who has affectionately known us from all eternity. He has given himself to and for us in the bloody death of his Son, Jesus Christ. In Christ's resurrection, he has given us hope for a future that will return us to ourselves and the creation- in body, in mind, and in heart. Each facet of our beings at peace and each at peace with the others. And, each complete human being at peace with every other complete human being.

So, in a culture driven by lust let us cultivate this lust, a lust for little things.