Trust Your Desire

I wrote this, stream of consciousness, writing-down-the-bones style, as part of an exercise for a class I'm taking. I read it to my friend and she told me to share it. When I did, people loved it. Funny how, as a writer, you can agonize over what to say and how to craft your sentence, and all that is eclipsed by one outburst of pure, authentic feeling.

You do not have to be good. You have to be whole. Find the messy, despicable, destructive parts of yourself. Tell them you love them. Tell them they have a place in your life. Ask them what they want to teach you. Ask them how they want to serve you. Woo your desire and your longing. Tease it, seduce it, draw it out. Let it know that it is welcome. Let it well up like a geyser erupting. Let it take you by force and remake your life. It will terrify you. It will frighten you. It may cause you to disappoint others. But it will always be true to you. Your desire can reshape the world. It is a liberating, healing balm, but it burns at first. Burns away all that is dead, outdated, no longer needed. But it will bring you home.

When you liberate yourself, you liberate others. When you are free to please yourself, you teach others to please themselves. Your desire is powerful. It is beautiful. It is gorgeous. It is leading us all on the path of evolution. Don't hold back. Don't be afraid. Trust what is coming to you. Your life is wild and precious. Don't throw it away. Please yourself, and you will please the whole world. Trust yourself, and the whole world will trust you.