Rosicrucian Writings Online

On Desire

By Frater George E. Carroll
 
[From The Rosicrucian Digest June 1931]
 
 
IT IS not unnatural to find ourselves desiring anything, it is a human trait, homologous with our wishing, coupled with more or less anticipation or expectancy according to our fondest hopes. There is nothing wrong in desiring, just so long as those desires do not contain evil or an element of suffering which might fall upon the shoulders for others to bear, in order to afford us the object of what we are wishing for. When we know that within God's storehouse there exists unbounded resources, a tremendous supply, more than enough of the good things in life for all, and being the Sons of God, we do no wrong in asking that we be granted the privilege of making use of some of these things. It is the Divine Creator's greatest pleasure to allow us to have those things which he has to give us, providing we in turn but comply with the rules and regulations having to do with the distribution of these gifts. As a consequence of this, it would be most natural, and wise, that we first learn the code established before we attempted to ask for things.
 
Man is hard to please in many ways: how often when he once realizes the attainment of a desire, something which, perhaps, he has thought his life would not be complete without, he at once has a new demand to present to the Deity. On the other hand, we have those among us, who are never satisfied with any gift they receive. Way down deep in their hearts, they are thinking, "I could stand a little more," or else, "How much nicer or better the thing could have been." Then we have those who would almost direct the way in which they want their desires to become manifested. In other words, they are pleased to attempt to tell God just how to do it, or to make conditions under which God is to grant them the blessing asked for. These are the fellows who find fault, pick flaws, and complain generally, no matter how things come about or what conditions or methods were applied in their particular case. Again, we have those who, no matter what they get or receive, would never think of such a thing as gratitude, taking everything as a matter of course, or the rewards of some small act, that they did good in, often way back in the distant and remote past.
 
This attitude and such thoughts are all contrary to man's best interests. A broker or merchant, or other business man, will have a streak of unusual good luck in his business deals. Right away he thinks 'how smart I am,' he forgets that the gift to reason, and to see these opportunities are, fundamentally, in themselves from God. We all must breathe in order to live; we are using the air to do so; but how many of us ever thanked God for air? We might have prayed for and desired it many times yet there are few who have given it much more thought than just that much.
 
So it is with the millions of other things with which we are on the receiving end, all of which we get free use of and do not even ask for, simply taking it for granted that we do not have to recognize so costless a gift. God does many things for mankind, which, were man left alone to supply or make himself, he never could have. While the sun shines, the rain falls, the winds blow, and nature produces life itself for us, we are contented to take it all as something separate and distinct, if not disconnected with our lives. Yet if any of these things failed us, we do not have to think much to realize what the final result would be. We have experienced what a lack of any single one of these essentials means. Then why not feel grateful for them when they do come to us?
 
We are so apt to slip along through life with never a thought about all that God is doing for us every second of our lives; still, when it comes to a personal favor that we desire for ourselves, we lose no time in raising our voice asking for it; yea, even often actually demanding it. If we treated one another for favors granted to us by each other as we treat our God for what He has granted to us, then there would be no friends left to gain favors from. Then why treat God any differently? It looks like mockery, and sheer nerve, to expect anything that we desire of God, seeing how few of us ever feel any gratitude towards Him for all that He has done and is doing. Until we have at least expressed our thankfulness and appreciation for what we already have, does it not seem as fitting that we have little right to expect any favor whatever? How much better it would be, even though we, at the present time, are not seeking any particular favor, to spend a few moments in a prayer of praise and acknowledgement for all these blessings. How can we help from loving a God, such as ours, who does so much gratis work in our behalf? Can we keep from admiring such a wondrous, mighty Power?
 
The next time we go to God for anything, let us try to remember some of the things he has already granted and show our gratitude, giving it expression and voice in prayer and with an unselfishness, in deep reverence and respect. Such a move from us, if sincere and freely made, might go a long way towards helping us out in our desires and wishing. At any rate, it would certainly raise our vibrations very highly, more especially if we knelt in prayer at the very foot of the throne of the most high God, and presented the prayer in humbleness, love, and honesty. We do not have to seek far in order to find God, seeing that the Kingdom is within, the palace of the King contains the throne, and on this throne sits the King. We have only to recall that 'The Kingdom of Heaven is within you.' ...
   
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