Needs and wants are perhaps even more significant a topic at this time of year.  Every year I am faced with getting my husband both birthday and Christmas presents.  This strains my brain to figure out what he “wants” or “needs”.

Gifts of need or want?

never knowing what to buy

A strain on my brain

Then yesterday I received this comment from a “linkedin” friend:

“You seem like a lady who has everything?  

I wonder…what do you want for
Christmas?”

At first, I wondered what I had said in a post or comment to give the impression that I had everything?

Then I wondered if I really take the time to think about the distinction between what I need and what I want.

Then I thought about Ida who has to weigh this question daily since she  is, out of necessity,  forced to survive on the bare minimum.

Susan Gammage wrote an excellent post on the topic.  It’s too long to repost but here’s how it starts:

Susan citing the following REALLY got my attention:

If you could fit the entire population of the world into a village consisting of 100 people, maintaining the proportions of all the people living on Earth, that village would consist of:

• 57 Asians
  21 Europeans
  14 Americans (North, Central and South)
  8 Africans
• There would be:
  52 women and 48 men
  30 Caucasians and 70 non-Caucasians
  30 Christians and 70 non-Christians

• 

• In addition:
  6 people would possess 59% of the wealth and they would all come from the USA
  80 would live in poverty
  70 would be illiterate
  50 would suffer from hunger and malnutrition
  1 would be dying
  1 would be being born
  1 would own a computer
  1 (yes, only one) would have a university degree
  

  

    If we looked at the world in this way, the need for acceptance and understanding would be obvious.     But, consider again the following…

• If you have never experienced the horror of war, the solitude of prison, the pain of torture, were not close to death from starvation, then you are better off than 500 million people
• If you can go to your place of worship without fear that someone will assault or kill you, then you are luckier than 3 billion (that’s right) people.
• If you have food in the fridge, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep, you are wealthier than 75% of the world’s population.
• If you currently have money in the bank, in your wallet and a few coins in your purse, you are one of 8 of the privileged few amongst the 100 people in the world.
• If your parents are still alive and still married, you’re a rare individual.
• If you’re reading this message, you’re extremely lucky, because you don’t comprise one of those 2 billion people who still can’t read.    (source unknown: http://www.movebeyond.net/417/know-no-limits/quote/lightening-in-a-jar/

Dear Linkedin Friend,  Thank you for asking.

My greedy little ego will probably never be satisfied.

My soul tells me I have everything I need. 

http://susangammage.com/when-is-enough-enough-a-bahai-perspective/comment-page-1#comment-1298