Yearning

Constant bickering, endless complaining… that’s something I hear from the people around me nearly every single day. They say that man, by nature, will never be content. We always seem to have this feeling that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. So we spend our days setting our sights on more verdant pastures, failing to appreciate the beauty of what is already within our reach.

Personally though, I think that to a certain degree, this yearning or longing for bigger things is good. To push it further, I see yearning as a gift. When we seek loftier goals, that motivates us to work harder- to strive towards the actualization of those high and mighty dreams. Wanting things which are seemingly beyond our reach gives us the much needed drive to push ourselves to the limit. We pull out whatever talents or skills we have from deep inside of us, and use these to achieve the things which our hearts desire the most.

Imagine a crippled man, doing his daily rounds of knocking on car windows, begging for food or money. He has the choice to be content doing that, simply living on what others may or may not give him for sustenance. But does that make him happy?

Now, if that same man suddenly yearns for bigger things, for a more comfortable life off the streets, he can do that. Despite his disability, he can choose to apply for maybe a job at a shoe factory, etc. Then, he wouldn’t have to feel so helpless and pitiful.

Happiness lies in achieving our goals. If we look around, the possibilities for the realization of our dreams are endless. All we need as a starting point is to have a spirit of yearning, a burning desire to explore what else life has to offer us.