On Desire

There is no accounting for where desire can take us and no substitute for it when we are tackling something of real importance to us. I know. Many years ago I began a course of academic study as a young person which I did not complete. Life got in the way; I married, raised a family, enjoyed a career, but now and again, desire would rise up from the vaults of my subconscious mind and remind me that I had not fulfilled a heart’s desire…to be fully educated. Finally, when I retired from pulpit work, desire stood right in front of me and asked, “How about NOW?”

So I did it...

So I did it… over forty years later. I matriculated at one of our state universities and fought off the fear that I might not keep up with younger students (Enough desire can steam right through gathering fear and get you going, believe me.) Those years turned out to be some of the best of my life. I did, indeed, complete a formal education and earned both a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree and found a very interesting experience being one of the oldest crocks on the campus. (No online stuff for me! I wanted hoary walls, classmates and instructors breathing down my neck, and grassy fields.) I remember a young classmate taking me aside one day to ask what I thought of his girlfriend. (What! Did my greater age give me expertise on assessing young woman?) I remember a young man sitting next to me in class with blue hair and what looked like a bone through his nose. (What if he sneezes? What if he gets a cold? Oy!) I remember an older professor who loved to stare down and intimidate his students…except for me, his contemporary. He did not mess with me!

It's good to be fearless...but

Vignettes of a happy, very productive time, but also a reminder that this wonderful episode would never have taken place without a desire strong enough to dispel all misgivings and pass through all fears. It’s good to be fearless when facing a daunting challenge, but barring that, enough desire can make just about anything possible.

And, by the way, desire is not only given to the young. How badly do you want it?

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