adressing needs

We always take for granted the things that we already have very much at our disposal. This is closely associated with our needs and how we respond to our ever changing needs. Maslow’s Theory of Needs proved this point clearly. Maslow depicts needs in the form of a pyramid and we constantly move upwards as we acquire our needs. We move to the next level the moment we have acquired certain needs and thus take for granted what we already earned.

I had this experience of losing something and only then realise that I took for granted so much of the thing that readily have access to. The internet!

Even though other countries have moved leaps and bounds when it comes to access to internet and the kind of speed that they are privileged to have, we so much lag behind that whenever a colleague from abroad experienced our line and cursed its sluggishness I felt like burying my head in the sand like ostriches do. Despite all this backwardness I embraced this technology and now cannot live without it. When I cannot access the internet for whatever reason be it technical or financial, i.e. my company fail to settle the bill for example I feel like screaming on top of my voice. Then I realise how have taken this little luxury for granted and how much my life depends on this communication media and most importantly my resource centre, readily available at a push of a button.

Today is Sunday and I woke up early in the morning as I was awakened by sound of wild swine scouring my backyard looking for worms. This is what these pigs are after I was told, crawly creepy worms. As I live in some kind of a country home, wild pigs are common sight late at night or before dawn. Up and about so early in the morning, I had the time to write and when I want to access the internet, I could not do so. We have become creatures that depend so much on machines. Now the machines rule us.

Back to the subject at hand, one will only miss something when one loses whatever that one use to have and taken for granted all along, lost of loved ones for example. We long for our loved ones only when we lose them or been away from them. This kind of feelings is human after all. Otherwise Maslow would not have studied and discovered as such.

Humans’ pursuit of wealth is also something that demonstrates the working of this Theory of Needs. It is never enough. The reason for this, according to theory, is that move to the next level of needs having acquired the kind of wealth that we already achieved. Crude it may be but this is what we generally termed as greed. Our greed takes over every time we entertain our love for worldly objects and ignore our inner feelings of gratefulness of what we possess.

How do we then deal with our greed? Or better still how do we train ourselves not to be greedy and to be grateful at all times for the worldly possessions that we have and the health and our serene state of mind. There is no substitute for peace of mind and there is a way of getting rid of greed inside us.

The Prophet taught us to inculcate this attitude of gratefulness. This can be achieved by always comparing ourselves with the less fortunate or those of lesser wealth when it comes to worldly possessions and as for doing good deeds the Prophet stressed that when it comes to good deeds, we must always compare ourselves with those who are more charitable, humble and pious and knowledgeable when it comes to pursuit of knowledge.

There is no end if we continue to pursue mere material wealth but on the other hand knowledge is power and knowledge is “having it to apply it”.

Kuala Lumpur, on a gloomy Sunday and drizzling all day long!

troubadour