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Modest Proposals
A Modest Proposal: Need Not Desire Do you have everything that you need? We often interchange the words "need" and "desire" as if the two words are the same. They are not. Granted they all reference that which we do not have. Desires are born of the ego and the mind as they struggle to keep us locked up within our humanness. Need derives from the yearning that each of us has to re-member who we are and to walk more and more with Spirit. Where is your life focused: on need or desire? What is a need? No one of us has very many needs. At the most fundamental, we need air, water, food, fire, and shelter. These are elements of the Earth that sustain our lives so that we may seek to fulfill higher needs. Higher needs are whatever moves us along our individual paths of Spiritual evolution. Satisfying a need eases a yearning that we have TO BE more, not HAVE MORE. Where is your life focused: on need or desire? What is a desire? Ultimately, desires are born of fears. A desire appears to neutralize fear but really doesn't. I may desire a very expensive home or automobile because, unconsciously, I believe that achieving my desire will elevate me in the opinion of others and "prove" my superiority or equality to them. Satisfying a desire really doesn't satisfy; it just creates greater desires. Where is your life focused: on need or desire? Why are you here? There is no "right" answer to this question. It is whatever you say it is, and if you ask yourself this question several times during the course of your life, you will probably have many answers. Howsoever you answer, the answer will be based in either need or desire. Where is your life focused: on need or desire? How do you tell the difference between a need and a desire? Satisfying a need moves us closer to heaven on Earth. Desires hold us Earth bound. The Earth is a wondrous place that we are given to stage the play of life; it is not the final destination. The Earth is an entity to be thanked for what it provides for the support of our humanness, and as such, deserves our respect and care. Although our flesh may be released back into the Earth, it is not the domain of our spirit. Heaven on Earth is found through our needs. Where is your life focused: on need or desire? How do you determine your needs? A need presents a doorway to fulfillment. A need concerns other people rather than the self. A need is a contribution; it is a giving, not a taking. A need speaks to the highest expression of your being. A need is about being God, not playing God. Where is your life focused: on need or desire? How do you know if you have everything that you need? When you have everything you need, you are fulfilled, harmonious, content, and joyful. Each of us has different needs for our needs define our individual purposes on the Earth. Finding and satisfying our needs is our life's work. Where is your life focused: on need or desire? Do you obsess to possess? If your life is about acquiring the material, the powerful, the political, the "visual," then you may be obsessive about possessing, and that's okay for it is your choice. If so, know then, that inside of you are needs that wait patiently for recognition and satisfaction. You can always go to that place. It is never "too late." Where is your life focused: on need or desire? How can you release the domination of desire? The simple question "Why?" is a great start. Ask why you desire something. Ask yourself: if you obtain your desire, is there another desire beyond that and beyond that… Desire is endless. It provides temporary satiation but does not feed the soul. Desire is addictive; the greater the addiction, the more is required to experience the pleasure. Where is your life focused: on need or desire? When is enough, enough? We all need things material in order to sustain our lives. I am not suggesting that you live in a cave, drink spring water, and eat berries in order to survive. I certainly don't. There is a point of diminishing returns wherein what we need to be comfortable in our bodies is swallowed up by the desire to have more and more and more… How big of a home do two people need: 1,000 square feet or 10,000 square feet - abundance is having what you need in the moment. There is completion to need; desire is limitless. Where is your life focused: on need or desire? Can you take it with you? He or she who dies with the most toys wins. Wins what? The fruits of desire are of the Earth and remain on the Earth. The satisfaction of a need is an enhancement of the spirit, and you do take that with you. Invest now in meeting needs and earn infinite interest! Where is your life focused: on need or desire? What is your worldview? This is the most defining question. When we desire, our worldview is of our physical, human selves perhaps with a thought now and then about how is the greater world going to affect what we individually have. When we pursue our needs, our worldview is of other people, the planet, and Spirit. It is also of us individually for we are part of it all. Where is your life focused: on need or desire? My Modest Proposal to you is to "need not desire." I don't think that Spirit ever intended for any of us to live in poverty or discomfort. As the brilliant psychologist Abraham Maslow wrote early in the 20th century, our basic needs must be met before we can attend to our highest need that he called self-actualization. Your needs are not for me to define for they are different for each of us. I urge you to consider: If you enjoy a comfortable living and feel that there is more to life, you will not find the answers by pursuing desires. Dare to look inside yourself to find the higher needs of spiritual evolution, self-actualization, or whatever label you choose that leads to fulfillment and harmony, and then satisfy them. I have been on both sides of the "need - desire" fence and choose to focus on my needs. Doing so rewards me in ways that I never imagined when I lived on the other side of that fence. Comments and counter proposals are welcome. Please email ron@RonMcCray.com. In the Light...Ron
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Email Ron: Ron@RonMcCray.com
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© Ron McCray 2002 - 2004
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