Desire

A cold comfort, a hot fire, we lust for hidden things, our desires

Not a spoken word, not a whisper

Do we exchange our souls for this all-consuming fire?

All we want, neatly wrapped, the devil just waiting to slip in the gaps.

The dark of the night, a sliver of the new moon,

Brings out the yearnings, from deep within your cocoon.

 

Doesn’t that paint a very lustful picture to you?

Isn’t that what we usually think of when we think of desires? Everything we’ve ever wanted and shied away from expressing out loud, wrapped neatly in a gift box, just waiting to seduce us, perhaps even from our moral compass.

 I often wonder why we associate the word desire with this exciting yet sinful feeling? It pumps me up with want, a rush and a feeling to hide it from the entire world.

Always having looked for comfort in words, I have tried to use the correct word and the meaning associated with it but somehow, I think some words have been lost in translation. Desire is on the list.

Very recently I have been trying to go after my desires, what with being in the middle of a pandemic and realizing that while you can’t control the world, you do have some control on a few things, like your time.

The way I understand it, we have types of desires like we have types of everything. We have our regular stereotype of desires where we want the forbidden fruit, an unlimited source of wealth and many such riches. A lot of times, our desires are not motivators.

But then we also have another kind, where we channel all our energy and focus to motivate us towards a single goal and we use our desire to motivate us.

Having been a couch potato most of my life, I had always admired people who are fit, who actually find the time to invest in their physical well-being and work to be healthy. Last year I decided to try and be one of those people, I was tired of watching from the side lines. To take myself one step further, I desired to also get abs.

One dedicated year of doing some form of exercise, even if it’s only 10 minutes a day and I think I am halfway there. I have to be honest; I was being very ambitious with wanting abs considering one of my other inherent desires is to indulge in all forms of sugar. I think I have reached a happy middle ground and have the best of both worlds.

 In retrospect, my motivation came from my desire and that is why I think we should not shy away from calling them what they are. There is something concrete about doing something for yourself and your desires, as compared to only thinking about it in the quiet of the night.

I mean, really, our desires have caused destruction and advancement of this world. I think we are done ignoring the potential that carries with our desires.

So really, as you read this, with your morning coffee, ask yourself, ‘what is it that I desire?

Written By Bhavna Sehgal

Years of reading has transformed her into a bit of a poet, which the world has yet to set eyes upon. An MBA graduate, Bhavna has just embarked upon a career in Marketing. Her perfect day mostly involves a book with some coffee and now she has another passion where she can expel the energy from the extra strong brew.

Week 20, April 21