Desire

"Beware of thirstiness lest your wishes become desires and desire binds you."

This is Tristan. He is a Border Collie. Like many Border Collies, he has a number of compulsive behaviors endearing idiosyncrasies.  One of them is psychogenic polydipsia, which is obsessive water drinking. No matter the size bowl or how recently he has had a drink, Tristan, if you do not stop him, will try to empty a water bowl any time the thought crosses his mind to do so, which is often. This is followed by a forceful paw to the back door, his frantic request to be let outside to relieve his overfull bladder.  Once outside, the dog relieves himself in a session so long, he has to switch legs mid-way, sometimes several times, because he's been standing on one leg for so long. One time I clocked him at 3 minutes. Probably real good for his kidneys. The more he drinks the more he wants to drink and the more he has to pee. Like thirsty ghosts, we're the same way, ever drinking with thirst never quenched. The more we get the more we want and the more we want, the more we have the more we pay a debt for what we have accumulated. The way we try to help Tristan with his particular disorder behavior is to keep him engaged in his environment. In the same way, we need to be engaged in our environment, not distracted by wanting to have but instead having what we want.