When The Levee Breaks.

Guest post written by a close friend who wishes to remain *sigh* anonymous. 

Whenever we imagine what the perfect life would be like, those visions are always external. We imagine the things we'd have, and the places we'd be and the people we'd be with. We never really think about how we'd be feeling really. We just assume that these things, places and people that enamor us so much; the desire of some sometimes consumes us, would guarantee contentment happiness.

Isn't that magical in a way?

Objects we don't possess, people we don't have, places we've never seen somehow magically hold the key to our bliss. We knowingly turn our lives into a wild treasure hunt and everyday from dawn till dusk and beyond we fight monsters and cross oceans in search of these treasures.

Here's the catch. This isn't good magic. This is magic that thrives on deception and feeds on your contentment. This is the magic in the beans sold to Jack; the magic that made Ariel human. Deceptive, dark, all-consuming.

So should we stop wanting things, places, people? The heart wants what it wants, right?

Well, sadly, yes. The heart wants what it wants. We can't really do much about that. What we can do however is temper the desire a bit. Put up rules on what we're willing to do for it and what is out of bounds. Give it a bit of restraint instead of letting it bound free and consume us. How much of us we're willing to give up for this all-consuming need for something. And then hold fast to it.

Because if we don't, then one day some desire will climb the banks of our restraint, break through the levees of self-preservation and flood our lives completely. And in its wake it'll leave a person that resembled who we were but covered with patches of regret and a new desire: to turn back the clocks and have another roll of the dice.