Cultivating Gratitude: A Solution for Taming Greed

I desire to my detriment. Sometimes I’m unaware of it and yet other times my pulse races and my skin is goose-bumped. Regardless of its origin, I will suffer.

Wanting is human. If I desired nothing, I would cease to consume food or attend to my safety. Further, pursuing pleasurable activities is a foundation of happiness. One school of therapy even uses that to treat depression.

Greed goes beyond wanting. It seeks to ruthlessly acquire its object. In so doing, gratitude for what one does have is lost. Further, this lack of gratitude ensures that greed is never sated. The greed object is consumed as emotional fuel, and the acquired thrill is fleeting.

So, to tame my greed, I cultivate gratitude. When I don’t approach my desires like a drowning man, I have a better chance of maintaining a healthy relationship with them. How do you cultivate gratitude? That is for another post.