The Real Me Is Truth and Love

At some point in my life, I was taught the idea of wanting. I am sure that I was taught to want quite unintentionally almost mindlessly and I say this because I noticed that without really trying I have already taught my own child to be the same creature of wants that I am. 

My 3 year old is constantly in need of amusement and I suspect that this habit was one I developed personally by flashing all sorts of toys in front of his face as a baby hoping to amuse him long enough to get him to stop crying or keep him smiling and happy.  Now we walk into a store and he instantly spots a new toy he'd like to take home, and it's never just one toy either, by the time we get to the register Jo has at least three items.  He watches me to see if I'll put the items on the conveyor to get purchased; as if on cue the lips pout and his eyes water up with tears when he realizes he can't take home all the toys.

Can we avoid teaching wanting, the answer seems to lean towards no for me right now when I look at Jo.  To me it seems as if I have been programmed to want and I can't help but to program my child to be the same.  Somewhere between our first breathe and our first birthday most of us bite the dust, we succumb to the urge to want and we spend our whole lives chasing after it. The sad thing about wanting is that it is an addiction that most of us don't recognize, we never take the proper steps toward rehabilitation instead choosing to march onward even unto the brink of our own destruction.

Maybe I can spend more time appreciating all that life has already given to me; I do have everything I need.  I'll just keep counting my blessings one by one everyday and filling my heart with gratitude.