Our dog, Hilda, is a bundle of fuzzy desires — food, affection, throwing her tennis ball, watching and chasing birds and squirrels. And, being a bundle of desires with a very short, short-term memory, she can’t remember having her desires satisfied. So, her life appears to be a continuous and endless series, punctuated by sleep.
Human beings are — or should be different. A life of disordered, endless, non-stop desire might be fine for a dog, but it destroys human life.
Rightly, spiritual masters over the centuries — and, in particular, Ignatius of Loyola — have seen the spiritual quest as one that is shaped by ordering those desires — with God at the center of them.
It is a helpful starting point for true creativity and joy.