What Do You Truly Desire?
What’s popping, people?
It’s Dante, getting my morning started here in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia.
Welcome to the Centennial Arboretum.
First and foremost—
I gotta get these suckers.
There you go. Save the trees. 🌱
The Universe in a Leaf
Have you ever looked into a leaf—
like really allowed the light to shine through it?
“It’s almost like you’re looking at the universe and it’s staring back at you.”
The Morning Thought: Desire
Today I’ve been thinking about desire.
What do you truly desire?
I wrote that note on my phone before bed last night,
and this morning I woke up ruminating on it.
When we think about desire, we usually think about longing for something we don’t have.
That can feel like a problem… until you look at the etymology.
Desire comes from Latin: desiderare —
which means something like to long for a star,
to grieve the absence of a celestial light.
So that got me thinking…
My Guiding Star: The Sunrise
Yesterday I sat on a bench with someone and told them something that sounds cliché,
but it’s real for me:
“My goal is to never miss another sunrise again.”
As a photographer who wields light as my medium,
this makes perfect sense.
- The sunrise is aesthetically beautiful
- The light at that hour is rich, golden, alive
- But more than that—it’s symbolic
When I wake up eager, when I’m enthusiastic for life,
I naturally seek the sun.
I get up, walk out, and move with the world.
And I realized something else:
“Without vitality, there is no curiosity.”
Align Yourself with the Sun
We wake up with clocks.
We check our phones.
We’re told when to do things.
But it can be so much simpler.
- Eat an hour before sunset
- Get some golden light in your eyes
- Wind down as the sun sets
- Sleep in darkness
- Wake up with dawn
By the time I’ve shaved, shit, had my coffee—
the sun is rising.
I’m not waking up to a clock.
I’m waking up to the sun.
“I’m not subscribing to time—I’m aligning with light.”
Follow the Light
So when I ask what I desire,
the answer is simple:
“To wake up with enthusiasm. To follow the light.”
That word—enthusiasm—comes from entheos,
which literally means possessed by God.
When you’re enthusiastic, you’re divinely animated.
And when you’re eager to catch the sunrise,
everything else tends to fall into place.
I want to:
- Make more photographs
- Walk longer distances
- Think more
- Read more
- Write more
- Express more
- Create more
I want to express my will to power
through the act of creation.
Technology as a Gift
We live in such a beautiful time.
Technology allows us to create faster than ever before.
It puts us in this flow state where things just click.
I don’t want to overcomplicate it.
My desire is simple.
“Never miss another sunrise again.”
Not fame. Not money. Not status.
But presence. Vitality. Joy.
Are You Possessed by the Divine?
Ask yourself:
- Are you waking up eager for the day?
- Are you possessed by God?
- Are you enthusiastic for your life?
- Are you catching the sunrise?
This, to me, is the path.
Let the sunlight emanate through your eyes.
Let it guide your rhythm.
Let it reprogram your biology.
Because once you start rising with the sun
and sleeping with the sun,
your whole life shifts into harmony.
Become Like the Tree
“The tree plants its roots and simply grows—because it seeks sunlight.”
It doesn’t strive to become something.
It just follows the light.
The birds, the spiders, the worms—they just do things.
They don’t wake up worried about status or validation.
“Maybe we should live more like that—doing things because we want to, not because we think we have to.”
What You Don’t Desire Matters Too
Knowing what you don’t want is important.
But focusing on what you do desire
can build a roadmap for how to live.
Amid the distractions—
- Media
- Gossip
- Internet noise
- City chaos
There’s peace in the simple things:
- Sunlight
- Water
- Sleep
- Presence
- Authenticity
Give Birth to Your Own Star
Maybe that’s the secret:
“Through simplicity, through vitality, we give birth to our own star.”
Maybe you are the missing star.
Maybe the thing you desire most…
is the most authentic version of yourself.
So I’ll ask you again—
What do you desire?
I desire light.