Before reading this book, I was just someone who followed the achievements and wealth of others. I didn't really know where my greed came from or why it was a problem. I came to realize that my desire stemmed from a 'mimetic desire' that arose from comparing myself to others.

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I have a strong desire to be recognized. This is probably not just me. How else could the need for recognition and respect be in the fourth stage of Maslow's hierarchy of needs? It's not more important than physiological needs, but in this age where society is highly developed and economic life is essential, we can't ignore the need for recognition.

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The 'Desire and Spirituality' I read contains an interpretation and application of Rene Girard's mimetic desire from a biblical perspective. In fact, I didn't even know who Rene Girard was, nor did I know the word mimetic desire. I just learned that Girard and mimetic desire are very famous.

Biblical figures are also greedy / Humans are greedy, past or present

The first thing I learned from this book is that humans, both past and present, are greedy beings, and that there are many people in the Bible who exhibit mimetic desire. I could see the weakness and sinfulness of human beings who are full of desires in many figures, such as Cain and Abel, Joseph and his brothers, and David.

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For example, David, who was already a king ruling a kingdom and had a wife, showed a greedy side by coveting the wife of his loyal subject. Just because they are biblical figures doesn't mean they are perfect. They are also human beings, so they have the nature of sin and cannot control their greedy behavior.

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Also, through the Ten Commandments - 'Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house,' 'Thou shalt not commit adultery,' etc. - we can see that we are full of greed. How much of a sinner were we that we had to be prohibited from such behavior through the Ten Commandments? Human nature is the same, regardless of the times, whether it is Israel or our country, or any country.

Other people's desires are also my desires – mimetic desires

With the advent of social media, we are living more and more comparative lives. We see the photos and posts of other people and start to think that we have to go to expensive places, eat fancy food, and go to beautiful places like they do. If we don't live that way, we think we are failures and incompetent.

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Essentially, those things do not come from within me. Even if I achieve what others have done, they will not be fundamentally resolved. That's because it's not my desire, but a mimetic desire. If we don't try to figure out what our true desires, goals, and essence are, we will be dragged along by the desires of others.

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As someone who uses various social media and keeps up with many people's news, I have many mimetic desires. I want to be famous like them, have influence, be recognized, give lectures, not have to seek them out but have them seek me out, write books, make more money than others, and have others look up to my life. What a pitiful and weak being I am.

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Uncontrollable human desire

As the saying goes, human greed knows no bounds and we repeat the same mistakes, so we can't stop our desires. For example, if you bought an Avante, you want to buy a Sonata, then a Grandeur, and now a Benz. It's not wrong to raise your standards, but if the reason is simply that it looks flashy and gives you a sense of superiority, it's just a pretty shell.

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I'm the same. Even after I paid for my Tucson Hybrid, I kept watching YouTube videos about other cars. Even though I haven't even driven my Tucson yet, I'm already thinking that my next car will be this one. I thought this laptop was good enough, but I'm already eyeing a better one and eventually bought it. My gluttony, which is already full, wants to eat the delicious snacks in the house. It's hard to control.

Separate other people's desires from my desires, separate the situation

Human desire is endless. The problem is that it's hard to control our own desires, and then we put ourselves in the place of other people's desires and have mimetic desires. Desire begets desire. It's hard to control desires, but we need to make an effort to control them because desires can lead to anger and suffering.

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In particular, we need to separate other people's desires from our own. If our situation is like this, but we are envious of other people's desires and follow them, our lives can be ruined. Frankly, if our financial situation is worse than others, what could be more foolish than trying to live like them? In the Bible, people were abandoned and even murdered because of mimetic desire.

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In the end, it's about 'being myself'. Whatever other people's desires may be, I just live my life. I need to find something I can be content with right now, find things to be thankful for in my life right now, be grateful for the little things, and feel happy with who I am. I am no less than anyone else, I deserve to be loved and respected, and I have strengths.

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I may be inconvenienced because I don't have a car, but I may have someone to drive me, and I may be in a situation where I can take public transportation. So I'm grateful that I have someone to drive me, I'm grateful for my sociability that allows me to have such people around me, I'm grateful that I was born in Korea where public transportation is well developed, and I'm grateful for having the money to take public transportation. In this way, we can control our desires and move towards gratitude.

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I believe that a life where I am above desire, a life where I don't envy other people's desires and follow them, a life that moves towards the realm of being myself, is a blessed life.