August 27th
What are my needs? And I know this book is about the needs of others — and how (very grudgingly) we, in modern societies go about meeting them. But I want to talk about MY NEEDS. I do care about others — every week I do volunteering work with elderly pensioners where my physical help is rather secondary to just being there and listening and talking with them to alleviate their loneliness. I don’t mind paying taxes, and I wouldn’t mind paying more since I know some little part will go to help those vulnerable and those in need (and the bigger part to grifters and chancers like Bezos and Musk, and all the bankers and politicians).
But what about my needs? I will be very egoistic and self-centered here. Of course, I know that there are two kinds of needs: physical and spiritual. From physical needs standpoint, all my basic needs are met with ease. And about that, I also noticed that my physical needs decreased with age, but most likely will increase as I age. Here it is very important to be able to separate actual need and want/desire. I think I am able to do that now — like I want to have a better car, but I don’t need a better car. I will not go into debt or work down myself stupid just to achieve what I want but don’t really need. All that is needed for me is a shelter (check), adequate food (check), adequate clothing (check), and adequate access to medical services (check). Everything else is a bonus and everything else depends only on my actions. And I have a lot of those bonuses — I am very lucky I know, and I know that I am better off in this regard than 95% of the world's population. Not by any spectacular hard work or intellectual gifts but by pure luck of being born in a developing European nation with all the opportunities and extended social help net that is common and taken as granted here.
Spiritual needs — that is another story. Especially since (unlike physical needs), spiritual needs will vary for every single person. I believe that the vast majority of the general population doesn't know that they have spiritual needs or can name the feeling when they aren’t met or will consider them as something fundamental to our human nature. For most people, some kind of dogma (religious or political) and expected reward and pleasure are mistaken as spiritual and as long they don’t need to deeply think about (or think at all) they think they are fine. They are not. And my spiritual needs? I making good progress in, first of all, identifying them and the areas that they influence. I am good at looking for ways where I can feel spiritually fulfilled. And I know that I can give on something that no longer works and is no longer useful for my spiritual needs. I am far away from nirvana but at least I know where I am going with that.
