From Gospel in Life article…

Christopher West, a student of Pope John Paul II’s work, Theology of the Body, says Christians have three options when it comes to our heart’s emptiness. The first option is that of the stoic: When we feel those needs to be seen, known, loved, to belong, or to be affirmed, we can scoff politely to ourselves and say, “Needs? What needs? I am good. I have the Lord and that’s all I need.” Or, we can take the route of the addict: “That felt so good to be affirmed, seen, and known! I am going to see what else or who else can help me to feel that way.” We hungrily race forward, seeking to suck as much marrow out of life as possible. We do not look through the created object to the Creator; we stare instead at the person or thing or goal, making it an idol. We should instead walk the third road, the one chosen by what West calls the “Christian mystic” (though not everyone would be comfortable with his terminology):

“The mystic is the one who allows himself to feel the deepest depths of human desire and chooses to ‘stay in the pain’ of wanting more than this life has to offer. Having walked through many purifying trials (what the mystical tradition of the Church calls ‘dark nights’), he is able both to do without the many pleasures of this world and to rejoice in all the true pleasures of this world without idolizing them—that is, without trying to suck infinity out of them. As the Apostle Paul says, ‘I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry, of living in abundance and of being in need’ (Philippians 4:12).”