All of the things we want, or have been taught to want, flood in. It turns out our wants are not as clear as we may have thought. As we attempt to sort through the endless images offered up by our desires, we realize they come from many sources: what our culture values, what our family considers worthwhile, what our friends or social circles prize,

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“Man is the creature who does not know what to desire, and he turns to others in order to make up his mind. We desire what others desire because we imitate their desires.” — René Girard.

A couple of months ago I pursued a new habit. Every night I pulled out a pad of paper and filled a blank page with answers to the question “What do I want in life?” (This is an exercise based on Jim O’Shaughnessy’s excellent six-part Thinker & Prover thread.) Unearthing my desires was painstaking work.