I read a lot of posts on facebook. I know, I have nothing better to do with my time than to read facebook posts, but I don't think anyone out there is judging me because you have nothing to do better either do you?? Reading all these posts made me start to think, and eventually I started to take a poll. Not just on facebook, but in general. What do people need? And what do people want, but they think they need?
I know it seems confusing in today's world. What do we need? There is the basic answer of water, food, and shelter. We all need these things, but I am willing to give people a little bit more leeway than that. I don't bat an eye when people say I need to have a car to get to work, or I need a new shirt. (Even if you probably have another 10 shirts at home and don't need another).
I started to notice so many things that are off with everyone, myself included. A friend who needs to have salad every night for dinner, people claiming they need to get a bigger house, a newer car, they need to have a specific kind of cereal, air-conditioning in the car. I have seen people say I need for some crazy things. Well, no sorry you don't NEED a bigger house or a newer car. But I do get that you want those things.
One afternoon, I said to a girlfriend that I hate the bedding that we have. Bill bought it before we got married, and it is very masculine, and not at all my style. She responded "Oh yeah, I don't like that either you totally need to go get new bedding." This struck a chord with me. Did I want new bedding? Yes! It would be nice to have bedding that we both liked, but did I need it? Of course not. The bedding, while not my style, is still really nice bedding. The bedding fills its purpose. It keeps me warm in the winter, and I can kick it down in the summer. No, we didn't need new bedding. I just wanted it.
So, why does it matter? Who cares if people say want or need? I guess what I have been thinking the most lately is about my kids. Do my kids understand that we are among the top 5% in the entire world just because we own a house and a car? Do they understand that they don't need ipads, or ipods or laptops? We don't need cable tv, or air conditioning in the car. Do they really understand the difference about what is important in life? Do they understand the difference between what they really need and what they want?
Are we living open-handed? Are we not taking the things we have for granted, and spreading love and wealth wherever we can? Am I setting the right example and really teaching them what is important, and what is not?
I guess I better watch the example that I am setting for my kids.
You have hit the nail on the head...this is something that has crossed my mind numerous times. Avery started making her Christmas list...yes in July...and it's absurd the things she thinks she *needs*. Thank you for sharing this...
ReplyDeleteKids need water, food, shelter, protection (hopefully their parents). Adults need the same, but tend to rely more on societal agreements for protection.
ReplyDeleteI want to be near my family, to have access to internet, to have a job, and own a car to get to that job, but I know they are not necessities. There is internet at the library, public transportation, bikes, my legs, etc. Even the house's AC is a MAJOR bonus and not even remotely close to a need. Anybody who says otherwise is greedy, lazy, spoiled, or a combination thereof.