Tom Bellamy at Literary Hub:
Desire is a curious thing. Some desires are easily satisfied—they pass quickly after they are successfully gratified, and rarely intrude into our consciousness. A lazy afternoon at the beach is a pleasure, but one we only seek occasionally. Other desires are insatiable. For those rewards, the thirst for more persists no matter how much access we get. Even after gratifying such desires, the longing barely fades—or if there is any relief it’s short-lived. Indulgence of such desires can lead to an escalation of the hunger, rather than contented satisfaction. This is not always a negative thing—to give and receive love is an example of a desire we never tire of—but insatiable desires are hard to moderate.
At the worst extreme, some desires can develop into such an irresistible craving that they become the primary focus of life, dominating all other concerns. These are the desires that religions warn us about. People battle to resist temptation, instinctively sensing that they are too seductive, too powerful, too encompassing; too deranging or destructive to be safely managed. Such desires can persist even after the reward itself ceases to be pleasurable.
This is the realm of addiction.
More here.
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