By Robert Taylor, , May 26, 2015
How many of us truly know what we seek in our lives? Do we confuse our desires and wants with our needs?
Are we really seeking that new home, job, car, boat, vacation (you may add anything you can imagine to this list)? Or are we seeking the “peace that passeth all understanding”?
We are driven by our needs, wants and desires. The greater these are, the more we are driven. A driven person is not a person who is at peace. That person’s needs, wants and desires keep that individual in a state of constant turmoil.
Society teaches us we should constantly strive for all the finer things in life. The paradox is that society dictates what those finer things should be. The labels society provides cannot fit every individual, for we are all different. No two of us have the same wants and desires.
My wants and desires may be to live simply and peacefully. Inasmuch as my needs for food, clothing and shelter are met, I am at peace. There is no concern about having the most toys, or the biggest home, or the most money, or the fanciest automobile.
Society says that unless we have these things or at least strive to achieve them, we are failures. This can only hold true when we allow society to dictate to us.
There are many people who, in the eyes of society at large, are abysmal failures. However, in the opinion of those closest to them, they may be considered the greatest of successes.
Consider those who live simply and within their means. They are totally free of debt and the worries that come with being in debt. Another thought to bear in mind is the fact that inasmuch as you owe any other person or institution, you are a slave to that person or institution.
Ponder this thought! Do not lightly pass it by.
So long as you owe another person or institution, you are a slave to that person or institution.
Our basic needs for food, shelter and clothing are relatively easy to satisfy. It is when we desire a 20-room mansion for a four-person family that we place ourselves in stressful situations.
How much is enough? That depends on what you want out of life. Too many people tell us we are foolish to settle for anything less than the latest model automobile, a beautiful and well landscaped home, a great amount of money in the bank and on and on. Are we really foolish to not want these things?
Would we not be better off to have sufficient for all our needs that we don’t have to worry about them? We can spend the time we would have wasted trying to accumulate the most toys on much better things. Some of these would be more quality time with our families, the time to really enjoy all the beauty surrounding us, and more time for spiritual development.
An individual who is stressed out cannot enjoy the beauty abounding on this earth. This is easily explained. When you are truly ill and hurting all over, your pains and illness dominate your thoughts. When you are in excellent health and high spirits, everything about you takes on a new nature and is viewed from a different perspective.
The choice is simple, but not necessarily easy. Live simply and free of stress within your means according to your own dictates, or endure the striving and stress of keeping up with the dictates of society.
