Help
Sign In
desires
January 2010 
What is the difference between wants and needs?
Posted on Jul 20th, 2009
by 
sandi
sandi
This is in Response to the Questions and Reflections for July 20, 2009:
When I was married, I would tell my husband, "I want this, or, I want that," and that old Grinch would almost always reply, 'You're old enough now to know the difference between your wants and your needs,". I hated to hear that, it meant that I would have to make a mature, rational decision that would run contrary to my wants. I might want those new boots, did I need them? If I did really want the boots, then I would need to save MY money to buy them. Well, darn, I wanted him to buy them for me, (This is the spoiled house wife thinking.) My needs had all been met, my wants were running amok in my mind. After our seperation I got a crash refresher course in wants and needs. I might want to go to the bookstore and buy those new books, I need to pay the phone bill. I lived for 6 yrs in a cabin in the mountains of No.Georgia., totally off the grid. This was not low- tech., this was no-tech. Fire was a big deal, had to have fire. Water, got to have water. Food, needed on a daily basis. Flat screen t.v., no, nobody needed it then, wasn't even invented. This I did voluntarily, I was "going back to the land", so I eventually had a pretty damn good idea of my wants and needs. I finally wanted civilazation again, I moved back to town, wants pared down, needs met and life took on a different cast for me. I'm just grateful every day that my needs are met and the rest is gravy.
Access: Public
Hello Sandi, What a very interesting learning experience you could say an adventure of the heart. I recall myself in my youth reading a story in a readers digest, the joke section I believe, where was asked what modern convience could you not live without. Well people listed tv, car, fridge etc till finally this older woman spoke up and said running water, the room went silent.
It left me with a sense of wonder and appreciation for the simple things in life.
Thanks
Hi, Just Me, thanks for your comment, is very true that what a lot of us take for granted simply wasn't available 100, 75, or even 50 years ago. This was in the 80's and I had a regular gas stove and refrigerator that operated on large propane cylinders that were refilled in town every so often. I also had 2 woodstoves, 1 a cooking range, the other for heating the house. Anyone that has ever cooked on a woodstove can tell you nothing beats it for even heat. I even built myself a wood-burning canning stove outside for summer produce. From my garden and chicken yard I furnished a large percentage of my foodstuffs, still a trip to the grocery store was great fun. I had running water from a spring on the mountain that gravity fed to the propane hot water heater, sinks and garden spigots. I even had a Miller arc-welder (diesel) to use as a generator if I wanted to use the electric lights, tools, or color tv. I used a 12v battery if I wanted to use the small black and white tv. Seldom used the generator though, too noisy and it offended my sense of peace and quiet. But what I did miss and really loved like a brother when I got back to town was………..A Flush Toilet! Oh, what a marvel! How lovely and odor-less! No bees and other buggies to disturb your processes! No scary trips out in the cold and dark with a flashlight to the outhouse. And a phone in my car, no less! Remember in the 80's everyone did not have a cellphone glued to side of their head. Much less e-mail. So flush toilets and communications are the 2 things I do love about the material world ( the power grid) the rest is kind of optional.
” …I'm just grateful every day that my needs are met and the rest is gravy.” Yes! A great big fat resounding YES!
Sandi - do you remember the movie years ago (1981) Continental Divide … your mountain cabin experience sort of reminds me of the woman in this movie. And just for the record, I am green with envy!
Hi, Laurie, thanks for dropping in. No, I can't recall seeing the movie but I've heard of it and will look it up. It was a wonderful cabin, since burned to the ground by vandals, but it took a lot of sheer guts and determination to stick out 6 years. At first I was in love with the whole experience and that was great, but too many copperheads, rattlesnakes, scorpions, bears and the like made it a little nerve racking at times. For the most part I was there by myself, not a good thing when the coon hunters likkered up on moonshine would be roaming the coves in the early morning hours. I kept 3 guns loaded at all times. There were idyllic times and terribly scary times because I was so far from the road you had to walk in, even with a 4-wheel drive. No air-conditioning in Georgia during August and September is brutal. I wouldn't trade the experience for the world nor would I do it again for the same price. I have established my wants and needs, here I set my standards, I want indoor plumbing!
Sandi - we do a lot of camping (as evidenced by today's photograph … by the way, the fish are smelt) and we enjoy it tremendously. However, I do love to come back home to indoor plumbing. We don't have an air conditioner and we heat our home with a wood burning stove (although we do have a Trane furnace for backup). Somewhat like a cabin, our little house is fashioned on the great room concept – it makes for big living in a small space.
I'm no fan of copperheads, rattlesnakes, scorpions or drunk coon hunters!