The Things We Need And The Things We Want
(this article is only available in english)
I’m currently driven around by a thought that is as simple as it is complex. Can I really always distinguish between what I need and what I want? And do I even have to?
Why do I ask myself this question? Because I’m at a point in my life where I realize that a lot of what I’ve wanted has come true, but it hasn’t really made me happy.
This raises the question of why it doesn’t make me happy when it is what I have wished for. Maybe it was the wrong wish. Or have I overlooked something and something was missing? Difficult.
At some point my father said something interesting. That what you want is not automatically what you need. And that is true. But if we limited ourselves in our society to what we need, many things would be different. We would all still drink water from the river and go berry picking.
That wouldn’t be bad either. But it’s just in our nature to be curious, to explore and to see what happens „when I throw a stone into the water“.
Many things have developed from this. We have discovered fire. Grown crops. Sewed clothes. And at some point we invented the Internet, which shows us the world as it is.
- That shows us the world as others live it.
- That shows us the world as we want to see it.
- That shows us the world we want.
The world we want. What a strange phrase.
That others make us believe that we want it. I realize more and more that I need something other than what I want. Something simpler, less complex. But the world is complex and simplification brings many new problems. But there is something called „necessary simplification“. I don’t know if this is the correct translation.
But to understand complex things, you have to simplify them first. Similar to how you would explain something to a child. Possibly here lies the key to my answer to the question: How can I distinguish what I want and what I need?
I think some luxury is ok, between necessities. There is always a healthy middle way. But in order not to tip the scales, it is important to be able to answer this question.
The question if I really have to do that, to distinguish, I will have to answer in another place. But a necessary simplification sounds like a good idea.
How do you deal with it? Do you distinguish between wanting and needing?
Let your opinion in the comments!
Cheers,
Andreas