Turn desire into a force for good

Turn desire into a force for good (Photo: iStock)

We rarely admit it openly, but desire is one of the strongest forces in our lives. It slips in quietly, unsettles our composure, and reminds us that beneath every polished exterior, there is a pulse we cannot quite ignore. For much of our lives, we are told to fear it, suppress it, or carry it like a shameful secret. But desire itself is not the problem. It is energy, powerful, neutral, and waiting to be guided.

More than a century ago, Sigmund Freud, the Austrian neurologist often referred to as the father of psychoanalysis, startled the world with this very idea. He suggested that human beings are not driven only by reason, but by hidden instincts, with sexual energy - what he named libido - at the centre.