Life's Illusions - Challenges For the Thinker

Why is it that our subconscious desires and feelings seem to be such know-it-alls, but when we stop to really think through what it says is so desirable, we find that it's not nearly so ideal as it makes the situation or person out to be? Or - we may NOT think it through, and find out through experience (and sometimes suffering) that it's not nearly as wonderful as what we felt it would be. The perfect example of this can be seen in advertising. The adverstisers make out the product and or situation to be of much greater value than it really is - like the car or travel agency for example that will take us to destinations unknown and fill our lives with excitement, romance, you-name-it pleasures we've never known. This works on the subconscious mind - implying that we need to spend our time, energy, and bucks on what they're offering if we really want to be alive, fulfilled, etc. (any adjective that sounds good!) But situations on the surface - or even in the moment - are rarely what they seem, and keep us from thinking and looking more deeply into the matter. We are all participants in life's illusions - knowingly or unknowingly. We have the choice to keep our attention on life's blessings, stay creative, and experience a state of contentment and fulfillment without falling prey to a million distractions that only serve to keep us from being of service to life. The life of the artist...