The Answer

In algebra, we typically label an unknown quantity with a letter such as a, b, or y. We can use the same approach to label what we truly need and want. We'll call it x. X is The Answer. It's what we all really want and need, even though we don't know what it is.

What we do know is that everything we can think of never satisfies us. Thus we know we're looking for something that's not like anything we can think of, or hold as a possession - even as a possession of our minds. Maybe, for a moment now and then, we think or believe there's something that will truly satisfy us. But in the next moment, we discover we're wanting again. Sooner or later, doubts settle back in. By definition, x cannot be like this. If you realized x - whatever it might turn out to be - you'd never want again.

But, unlike the bright objects we commonly pursue in an effort to satisfy ourselves, we cannot seek what we truly need and want because we have no idea what we're searching for. Rather, x is like a fish that swims into the net of its own accord. What we can do - all we can do - is lower the net.

What you really need and want will never appear as an object to your mind. Nevertheless, you already know what you truly need and want now. If only you would stop telling yourself what it is, or asking yourself what it might be, or speculating on what it may look like, it would become readily apparent.