G
rant that I may desire that which You promise.
These words (or something similar) adorn today's Collect from the Mass. I have to keep them firmly in mind. I have a lot of temptations to worldly things -- some of them truly harmful to my soul, but many of them anodyne on their own. However, they are still an occupation with some temporary, impermanent, lacking in true reality, and incapable of fulfilling me. I thought today about what it would mean to have all the worldly things that I desire -- the games, the time, the skills, the respect, the beautiful objects -- and how I would feel upon gaining them all. I think it's fair to say that I would be basically unchanged, which is a somewhat terrifying thought. All these desires, and not one of them capable of transforming me the way that I need to be transformed, even in my own imagination.
I had a thought once that if you make your happiness dependent on the world, then if the world goes away, of course you are in Hell. You will lose everything -- this is assured. But if your happiness depends solely on that which is eternal, that which cannot cease to be, then you are rich beyond imagining.