Wants and needs are very different, but in today's society we are constantly bombarded with the idea that we can have everything we want. And not only that we can have it all but that we should have it all.
Sarah said "at times our wants can seem positively all-consuming. Our sensibilities become confused and overstimulated by a mass media that glorifies beautiful people and expensive objects. It's easy to lose clarity about what it is we need to live authentically."
But our wants and our needs are different, and it's crucial to figure out the difference in order to find happiness. You HAVE to "make peace with the knowledge that you can't have everything you want. Why? Because it's more important for us to get everything we need...we feel contentment when our essential needs are met." -SBB
She talks about having courage, having courage to ask yourself what it is you truly need, and trusting your heart when it gives you the answer.
I think she's right, I think we also need courage to stand up for ourselves when we choose to focus on our needs instead of our wants. Whether it's standing up to family, friends or strangers, or standing up to the little opposing voice in our head. When someone offers you something or is trying to talk you into buying it, you just firmly but lovingly tell them that you don't need it. When that little voice tells you that a want is a need, you tell that voice it's wrong and just start counting your blessings.
It takes a lot of courage.
When you focus on your needs, you'll find gratitude and contentment. After awhile you'll find that your desires will align more with your needs instead of your wants, and your list of wants will diminish. Your number of wants will not only lessen, but they will become more about quality than quantity. Sometimes the list doesn't get much shorter, but it does become less prevalent in your mind and heart. They don't bother you because you don't have them.
"It is only after we acknowledge our inner needs that we can harness the creative energy necessary to manifest them in our lives." -SBB
"It is inevitable when one has a great need of something, one finds it" -Gertrude Stein
I love Matthew 6. They talk about how the birds have all they need, the lilies of the field, the grass...The Lord looks after all these things, don't you think he'll do the same for you?
"Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all things shall be added unto you." -NT The scripture goes on to say don't think about tomorrow, it'll take care of itself...I think that means don't worry. Trust in the Lord, have faith and not fear.
I firmly believe that we have spiritual needs, and when I've put God first he's always taken care of me and my family. We've always had what we needed, and some of our wants too.
With a spiritual perspective, even things that I consider needs are really wants. I have a really nice home, but I would be happy in a small apartment (that's a lot better shelter than a lot of people have). I need food, I want really nice food, but I am grateful for what I have and that my family and I don't go hungry. I need my family, but we are sealed together...even if (or when) I lose them in this life if we live righteously I will be with them in the next.
After thinking about my needs all day, I'm feeling overwhelmed with gratitude. I thank God for the many blessings he's bestowed upon me, and that because I have so many needs and wants met I can help others.
What are your needs?
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