Controlling Greed
“How will you control your own greed?”
What an interesting question to ask and think about! How will you? Not just greed, but also desire, grasping, or longing. Can or should you even try to control them? How do you know if controlling is what you are supposed to do? Because these emotions can also be a driving force. So who decides when the control or the chase is appropriate?
I believe we can find a healthy balance of greed, desire, grasping, or longing by practicing ‘letting go’. Imagine you throw all these states of mind in one bucket. What label could you give that bucket? At the end of the day, all these emotions are all different flavors of attachment. The thing with attachment is that you will always attach yourself in one way or another. Start to become aware of the things, places, people, activities, emotions, states of mind, and preferences that you have the tendency of attaching yourself to. When you become aware of what they are start to control your actions towards the object or subject of attachment, yet simultaneously practice ‘letting go’. What will you end up with is something called intention. The attachment will turn into an intention to move towards something or someone. Ask yourself one question now: “Is the intention I'm setting and pursuing a noble one?”
“How will you control your own greed?”, becomes a question of values. What are your values? How do you know your actions support your values?
There are two different sets of motives. The first set is extrinsic motives. Doing something with the expectation of getting something in return. “Is your intention of pursuing what you pursuing made out of the idea of getting something in return for your action?”
The second set is intrinsic motives. Meaning you are simply doing something for the sake of doing something. “Are you doing what you're doing because you think the intention in itself is worth pursuing?”
How would you control your own greed? What conclusion do you end up with?
Mine is to know what my values and the motives behind them are, so I can show up every single day authentically.