Greed is about never being satisfied with what one has, always wanting and expecting more. It is an insatiable hunger, a profound form of gluttony. There are various greedy behaviors such as betrayal or treason for personal gain, hoarding of material things, theft, robbery, and fraudulent schemes designed to dishonestly manipulate others for personal profit. We are aware of so many people who have succumbed to the evil of greed and we should learn from their indiscretions.

Greed grows from ignorance of one's self. We all have our personal addictions: work holism, rationalism, shop holism, perfectionism  etc. This is our futile attempt to fill a spiritual and emotional emptiness within us, to gratify some long-buried need, to heal or at least numb some festering psychological wound.

There is something perverse about more than enough. When we have more, it is never enough. It is always somewhere out there, just out of reach. The more we acquire, the more elusive enough becomes. –Unknown

It is easy and convenient to condemn the selfish greed we see all around us. We live in a society that worships success, celebrity and money. Are we not all greedy in some way? It is when we deny and project our own greed that it becomes most dangerous.

We must recognize that we all have greed for something. Rather than righteously rejecting or denying it, we must seek out listening more carefully and regularly to our dreams, our inner thoughts, feelings, impulses, perceptions and needs without being judgmental, preconception and attachment.

Our appetite is like seawater; the more we drink, the thirstier we become. Since we cannot have everything we want, frustration and unhappiness are unavoidable, unless we learn how to curb our greed.

Desire in itself is not wrong. It is excessive and insatiable desire that we need to avoid. Take money, for instance, there's nothing inherently wrong with it but the inability to give it up is deadly. It is the love of money that is root of all evil.

We are greedy because possessions can bring us pleasure and pleasure can become addictive. If we mistakenly associate pleasure with happiness, it's not surprising that we pursue it without end.

Fear is another reason for greed. We maybe afraid that there is only so much materials to go around; that we will not have, nor our family, enough resources in our old age, to live an abundant and comfortable life. Although fear can cause greed, ironically, greed causes more fear.

Isn't it true that if our desires are endless, our cares and fears will be too? We can become prisoners of our own greed, slaves of our own addictions. We've got to learn to let go.

Lotteries and other forms of gambling lead some people to believe that they can have everything they want by striking it rich but many find that instead of striking it rich, they strike out.

Another promoter of false dreams is the credit card. We can have what we want now, it tells us. Those who yielded into trying to fulfill their insatiable appetite with credit cards soon discover that the only thing they have now is many bills, much pain. Why can't we tell the difference between our needs and our greed?

Because we cannot have everything we want, we need to focus on what's important in our lives and prioritize. We can put out the flames of greed by concentrating on being more instead of having more.

Life is tragic for those who have plenty to live on and nothing to live for; that the most pitiful poverty is that of a man who has more than he needs but feels he doesn't have enough. So instead of pampering ourselves with pleasure, we can make ourselves stronger, better and happier by becoming more compassionate, helpful, nurturing, responsible, self-disciplined, and courageous.

By Tim Pedrosa