It occurred to me last night the difference between a "want" and a "need". Not the traditional differentiation like, something you can't do without v. something you desire but don't absolutely need, though.
I occured to me that all people need is their basic needs met. Fr instance -people who Need don't Want money, they NEED it. They Need food, shelter, water, heat... Need. Once those Needs are met, Then they Want. At some point there's a shift and they Want things they didn't necessarily Want before -like more Money.
Wants are stupid. They are things you attach yourself to before you even aquire them. If you don't end up aquiring them, you then feel like you've lost something. You should never "want", you should only "aspire to".
I aspire to one day attain a PS3 so I can play Flow and Flower. I'm not attached to it. I don't Want it. It's just something that would be nice to have someday. But my life is whole and complete unto itself and I can go on living just fine if I never obtain it. just aspire to have it one day.
I aspire to speak well in front of people. I don't Want it- like some distant mistaken Need. Like some baby cryig out for a bottle until he gets it. I aspire for it -like someone climbing a mountain aspires to reach the top to take in the view. If he doesn't make the top, he knows he can always try again later -always working his way towards it. He doesn't Want to reach the top as if it were the only thing in his life that mattered -he Aspires for it. I don't Want to be magically blessed with the ability to speak well in front of others -I acknowledge it will take work, but it's something I'm striving for -something I Aspire for.
I Aspire to be a better leader. I don't Want to be a better leader -trust me. It's not in my nature to Want a leadership role. But I acknowledge I can better achieve things and help people if I step up to the plate and become more of a leader. I aspire for it.
(No that is not me. Though I might aspire for it to be...)
Hey, it's your blog --- write it as you see fit. I'm just saying the replies will be just as random and flowing and...
ReplyDeleteI've also been thinking about wants and needs lately, and how it relates to intelligence:
When I take a general look at the people in my life, it's interesting to me how different people's intelligence works. I can do some things with other friends, and I can't do some things with others because their minds simply don't work that way. All of my friends are intelligent in some areas, while slow or dumb in others. I'm the same (I'm an idiot when it comes to maps and mechanical things).
But note that nobody is too dumb to do what they NEED to do. It's like there is a base level of stupidity for all people, essential for the survival of the human race. Like God said, "All people must be able to do this...I don't care how dumb they are, they MUST be able to do this."
And these things that we all must do to survive are our needs.
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Yah, it gets frustrating every once in a while to see how blind some people are to things that I think matter. And yet we all share basic needs and instincts that we can see eye to eye on and contect to.
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