What You Really Want or Desire

We have lots of wants; we always want things that we think will make us happy, but these are often not our deepest desires. My deepest desires are not about wants. Wants often come from ‘the surface’ and can be superficial. They usually involve ‘things’. The more important question is about our deepest desires, our dreams, what will bring us true happiness. They come from a place way below the surface or the superficial things. They come from a place we sometimes don’t even really understand.

Ignatius said that we can find God in our deepest desires. That’s a remarkable statement if we carry it through to practice. Spending time dreaming about our deepest desires might just bring us into a sacred space.

Excerpted from Emerging from the Mess  by Brendan McManus SJ and Jim Deeds (p.44)