Wasting Maslow No Mas



Maslow and Pavlov used to date, I think.. drooling all over their basic needs


In a moment, in an afternoon, we can be drawn down from the height of Maslow's Pyramid to the very bottom.

I have a water cooler in my kitchen. Clean, delicious spring water is available all the time, both very hot and very cold. What if I was suddenly unable to say when I might get my next drink of water, any water?

I have a pantry, a fridge and freezer with various foodstuffs in them, and a grocery store less than a minute's drive from my front door. What if the ocean swept over my stores of food and the food store as well and left nothing behind?

What if it was cold and there was no gas heat available?

What if I hadn't closed my eyes for days and had no idea when my opportunity for sleep would come.

No safety, no security, no assurances... everything gone.

If I remember my college psychology correctly, Maslow says that we cannot move up the pyramid if the lower levels are not satisfied. Without taking care of our most basic needs, we cannot have a close personal relationship, realize any feeling of accomplishment or achieve any higher level of realization. I believe this to be true.

How many survivors of this week's tragedy will be stuck at the bottom of Maslow's hierarchy for weeks, months or even years?

I feel not a small amount of shame tonight that I haven't appreciated more the gifts I have been given in my life.

They could all be gone tomorrow.

I have spent too much of the last three or so years complaining how hard things have been, whining that the level of life awesomeness has dropped significantly and bemoaning the increased stress I've had to suffer.

What a waste.

So here's the plan: While I'm able to float in the upper levels of Maslow's theory, I am going to take advantage of it. Today I have food, shelter, health, safety, love and security. Tomorrow I cannot say.

If I am thrown back down, as so many have been instantly and tragically tossed this week, I want to say I took full advantage of top of the pyramid while I was given the opportunity to bounce around up there.

For me, more than anything else, that means writing.

What higher endeavors are on your priority list?

Cheers,

Casey

Comments

  1. Unknown16/3/11 20:07

    My heart is broken for the people of Japan.
    I hope you write for when you write you dream.
    And dreaming is the best thing ever!
    Well, except for Birthdays ; )

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

This is where you come in...

Popular posts from this blog

Hotel

Image
I feel like every time I come over to Crescent City I write the same blog post. You know, appreciate my family, wish I was home, like driving by myself, love my wife, want to hug my kids, blah blah blah. So let's try something different. When you are away from home and by yourself: What's on the radio on the road? I've gone through stages for sure. NPR, scanning for local stations, my own iPod music etc. But for the last couple of years it's been audiobooks and nothing else. I belong to audible.com now and get a new book every month for $15. I have a bumper sticker that says, "Shhhh, I'm listening to a book." What kind of crap do you eat? Do you go to a restaurant? My love has no trouble at all spending the evening by herself at a busy restaurant. I'm not made that way. I usually buy some frozen garbage I can nuke in the hotel microwave that will make my tummy ache for the rest of the night. What kind of TV do you watch? Channel 45 for me here, whi...
Read more

Her Cottage

Image
She lives in a one room, cozy cottage she built in the middle of a lush green forest. Her home sits in a grassy clearing, backed up to the base of a fern-covered cliff where in the Spring, sweet clean water trickles down to her waiting barrels. Tiny, baby blue flowers grow amongst the ferns on tender, too-thin stems of pale green. She is young, and happy, and full of hope. One day a pebble dislodges from the very top of the cliff. It’s not much larger than her smallest finger. It tumbles as it falls, briefly touching its brothers along the way. Seeing the pebble’s joy, the brothers break free and join his race down the steep slope. Others join, larger friends, who bring larger friends. And soon they are singing a thunderous roar of glee as they race each other ever faster down. She hears the song and runs out of her cabin, looking up to see them ripping through the ferns, plucking the flowers and consuming all in their bliss. She backs away, then trips. As she hits the gr...
Read more

What Nurtures You?

Image
One of the coolest chicks in the blogosphere suggested that we all come up with twenty things that nurture us. Everyone who has taken this challenge seriously has approached it in a slightly different way, which is one of the things that makes blog communities so cool… the differences within the similarities. For me, I must define. Nurture - to care for and encourage the growth or development of Since really only humans can care for and nurture other humans, what we’re really looking for here are twenty things that inspire us to nurture ourselves. Here we go: 1 – The scents of my woman Which makes me think of the feel of her skin, which makes me think of other nurturing things I will not bring up… 2 – “Hey Dad,” as I walk in the front door at night If those two words don’t ease my soul, nothing will. 3 – Golf The last seven years of my life would not be the same without those long walks and the man-bonding previously missing in nearly my entire adult life. 4 – The smell and fee...
Read more