NEED

I just changed houses. Though I love to travel and see new places, I always dread the moving and the work involved in the process. Stuff somehow gets accumulated even when you are very careful to avoid it.

We stayed at the old place for hardly a year. Still, I had to throw out stuff. Though, when I was buying things for the house, I thought, I "NEED" it. So, I am buying it. But when I have to move, it seems not worth the trouble. Hmm! (The word "NEED," like "LOVE," is used very inappropriately most of the times, I feel.)

And when its time to move into the new house and sort things out, everything seems very inconvenient. I cannot imagine having no cabinets/shelves to keep vessels in the kitchen or a rack for toothbrush in the bathroom! This house is a temporary arrangement till we move back to India in a month. So, I did not think of convenience much while renting this place, but more of a basic NEED for shelter for a month. It has basic amenities- water, electricity, stove, and fridge. And its a safe place to stay. And I believe its not healthy to eat out daily. Home-cooked food is nutritious and healthy. Thus, I did not opt for a motel or any other place, where I would have to be at the mercy of someone else for food!

Initially, I was very confused about how to chop vegetables. There is no "work table/rack" in the kitchen. It took me 20 seconds to realize, I can chop veggies on the floor! *slaps forehead* This made me wonder- am I spoilt? Am I a snob to be complaining about stupid shelves, when there are homeless people?

To be fair, if I was lady Tarzan, swinging from tree to tree and eating raw, unsalted meat, this would still be a situation to complain about! So, I think the answer is, I am just too acclimatized to a way of life. If I had always lived like a nomad, living out of suitcases would not seem like a confusing chore. (You know, how do I keep stuff and not spend an hour trying to find it, or two trying to arrange it back in order!) I have been very lucky having to not worry about the basic NEEDs of "food, shelter, and clothing."

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs comes to my mind. The basic physiological NEEDs of breathing, food, water, sex, sleep, homeostasis, and excretion have to fulfilled first for man to move on to feeling safe. Security of body, job, resources, family, morality, health, and property come next. When these NEEDs are fulfilled, we move on to the NEED to belong or love. This includes, family, friends, and sexual intimacy. After this comes the esteem NEED. This includes our NEED to have adequate self esteem, respect for oneself and others, confidence, and achievement. Later on we feel the NEED to learn more and acquire more knowledge. Next is the NEED for aesthetics, pleasant surroundings, looking good, and feeling good. Then after a person has all these rungs fulfilled, he is secure enough to think about self-actualization. Here, one fulfills his NEEDs for morality, creativity, idealism, spirituality, and conscious and subconscious efforts to meet the psychological NEEDs. After all this, comes transcendence.

Genius Maslow!

I guess we all fight change, because change is inconvenient and unfamiliar. But it is something that cannot be avoided. When we are open-minded and consider all changes as experiences for us to grow more, we become diamonds, tempered from rocks under extreme conditions.

When our most basic NEEDs are challenged, it gives us a chance to re-evaluate ourselves and be appreciative of what we have. No wonder, a poor man who has been hungry for days, is willing to cast his vote to any "party" that provides him 1 simple meal.