Heaven’s hammock

Moderation is only possible when I am fundamentally indifferent to my appetites and activities. I can employ self-discipline to fight with myself but where lies the merit and meaning in that unhappy business?

Natural man

Desires, cravings, wants—these are mental fixations. They roil and despoil the mind. The natural man is complete. He doesn’t want anything because he doesn’t need anything. The distance between ‘I am’ and ‘I want’ cannot be calculated.

Have nothing

This is a hard sell in a culture where the answer to every problem is more. But consider: Our basic biological needs are few, modest and easily met. If we have more than we need, we have too much. Craving sensory stimulation, we chase more and better experiences—more of what we don’t need. Craving is slaving. Every form of wanting, every anticipation, alienates us from the beauty and power of the inexhaustible now. Jesus to the cultivated rich kid: “Sell everything, give it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven.” Which is nowhere other than now.

No wants, no worries

Man is pure when desireless, simple when fearless.

Please, God

Yes, Life gives us what we need. But there’s a pre-condition to be met: We have to stop asking for what we want.