Three Responses to Desire

The second noble truth teaches me that desire and my attachment to desire is why I am caught in this cycle of rebirth. But because of ignorance, I do not handle desire wisely.

I usually only think that there are two responses to desire. I can indulge it or repress it. Yet I know that what I resist persists.

The third option is to step back and observe the desire. See it arise, intensify, and dissipate. Watch the tension in the body. Notice where it is, what it feels like, and how it flows and vibrates.

Both indulgence and repression energize the desire, reinforce it, and strengthen it. Only by becoming the observer do I gain freedom. Only then do I stop being a participant in the story.

Remember, be the observer. In every action, breath, feeling, thought, or experience. Get out of my head and into my life.