Buddha said that the cause of all suffering was desire. He might have also said that the cause of all our pleasure is also desire. Desire is the motivating force that really drives most of our actions in the world. Without desire, there would be no creation. If God did not desire the universe, it would not have happened. But God did, and God saw that it was good, Gen 1:10. God gave us desire. There is nothing wrong with desire. When desire becomes suffering it is usually because we have not realized our own expectations. I think if we can let go of our expectations, then there would be much less suffering in this world. Our expectations can become visions of the future that we think will bring happiness. Then if our expectations are not met, we are not happy. For example; I want a new red car and I will not be happy till I have that new red car or I want a baby and I will not be happy till I have a baby. So I get my new car and am not happy because it does not meet my expectations of the color I wanted or I get my new baby and I am not happy because it does not meet my expectations of the gender I wanted it to be. It is usually our expectations that cause so much suffering. If we can let go of our expectations and accept what the universe gives us, then we will be much happier. There is a lot of wisdom in the saying, “If live gives you a lemon then make lemonade”.
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