Friday is Book Day on the blog, when we take a look at books – old and new — that I highly recommend you not miss. This week’s recommended reading: Anatomy of Desire: How to Be Happy Even When You Don’t Get What You Want , Gina Lake.
Conversations with God says that happiness is not getting what you want, it is wanting what you get. Others have made the same observation, and, in fact, this thought seems to be as old as time. Still, it is good to hear it again, to visit it once more, to connect with the wisdom yet one more time. And few books do as good a job, as quickly, of reconnecting us with that wisdom than this entry by Gina Lake.
The introduction to Anatomy of Desire: How to Be Happy Even When You Don’t Get What You Want says that the book will help you relate to your desires in a way that reduces suffering and increases joy.
It is essentially a book about how to be happy regardless of your desires. It points out many of the myths about desire, which keep you tied to them and the suffering they create. So, it is also about spiritual freedom, or liberation, which comes from letting the Heart guide you instead of the ego.
This text is ultimately about becoming a lover of life rather than a desirer because these two things — love and desire — are at odds, and you must choose between them. What do you really want? Do you want what you want or do you want love?
Hmmmm….interesting question.
A reader of this book, Laura Prue, gave this evaluation of it…
I love this little book! In “Anatomy of Desire,” Gina Lake explodes the popular cultural myth that desire fulfillment leads to happiness. In it she states that “while there is no freedom from desiring, because desiring will exist as long as we are human, it is possible to become free from needing our desires to be met.”
The practical information in this book demystifies desire and helped me to distinguish between the fear driven desires of the ego and the urges of essence. “Anatomy of Desire” is an easy, quick read that has had a lasting impact on me. I highly recommend it.
This may be just the book for you if you are going through a particularly rough time right now, and are feeling depressed from not getting what you want. Many of the points made here will also be found in Happier Than God: A Journey to Joy, due out in March from Hampton Roads Publishing Company, my own latest book. Perhaps this is why I enjoyed Ms. Lake’s book so much. We all like to hear from people who agree with us!
Still, I feel certain that many others will agree with this text as well. It offers a simple, accessible, articulate, and interesting “take” on the very human experience of desire, and gives us the tools to make clear choices about how we want to live our lives.
An easy, excellent read.