For me, one such trap is the desire to help and another, in a similar plane, is the desire to build cities.
While it may seem that the desire to help comes from a good place — “surely helping others is a good thing, right?” — I’ve discovered that this trap often comes from my lack of acceptance of a person as they are and thus the “desire” or “wanting” to help stems from my inability to accept them rather than what they truly need or asked me for.
Cities are a similar, but scaled up plane.
I have trouble accepting the reality that we live in and thus my desire to build cities stems from my inability to accept the world as it is.
If I search for the places in my heart that are beyond desire, if I have the patience to sit with and accept the “brokenness” that I see in other people and this world, to hold my heart’s desires and to accept them, in the same way we hold our tongue, I may see that the “brokenness” — perhaps — was my projection and misunderstanding at how this all works.
For in order for free will to exist, there needs to be consequences for violating love. And the world that we live in is the resultant of us violating love.
Desire requires time. It requires an A= I want something to happen and a B = that thing happened.
Time is a dimension for love to express itself.
The beauty of B never happening and understanding that the unfolding that occurs is more magical than what could have possibility been desired or imagined at A
Love allows for the possibility of the parable of the Chinese farmer continuously unfolding while desire gets upset that the son broke his leg riding a horse.
The more that we want, the more incapable that we will be at letting go.