Why are Humans Never Satisfied

Why are Humans Never Satisfied

Mid 2012

We as humans never know when enough is enough. We are always excited about our next experience. After the experience has run its course, we start to focus on the next, then the next, and the next. At what point do we become satisfied. 

We've also disciplined ourselves into submission and tell others we are satisfied with life. That would be great, but I don’t believe it to be true. I personally budget my life to insure future needs are in place and have disciplined myself. This doesn’t stop the voice inside that always want a new experience. When I say experience, I mean the experience of having a new thing, or new view of the world, more learning, new food I’ve never tried, the feel of a new car, and on and on.

All experiences become a thing of the past, and once experienced the mind wants the next best thing. Will this never ending insistence of the next best thing be what drives human nature to its end? Or is it what keeps pushing us forward. Is this sense of wanting more what the Buddha calls desire and one of the causes of suffering? If this is the case, why are we constantly being pushed by ourselves to do what will only lead to suffering? Why have we been programmed to behave this way? Is desire a form of suffering when we can’t have what we want? And is desire and lack of fulfillment what causes violence and suicide?

What about experiences many can’t seem to get enough of like sex, drugs, or that killer sandwich at the corner sub shop. What about the times when we let go of something old only to miss it when it’s gone. We never seem to know what's good for us. And I don’t think we ever will. Not as a whole.