I guess I should have a blog.....

Wants and Needs

When wants and needs become one, God has spoken.  - Anonymous

The Asking Boy would like to know…. Is there truly that much difference between wants and needs?

Notice how close the two sets of definitions are;

WANTS:
noun:  anything that is necessary but lacking ("I tried to supply his wants")
▸ noun:  a state of extreme poverty
▸ noun:  a specific feeling of desire
▸ noun:  the state of needing something that is absent or unavailable ("For want of a nail the shoe was lost")
▸ verb:  be without, lack; be deficient in ("Want courtesy")
▸ verb:  have need of ("This piano wants the attention of a competent tuner")
▸ verb:  feel or have a desire for; want strongly ("I want to go home now")
NEEDS:
noun:  anything that is necessary but lacking ("He had sufficient means to meet his simple needs")
▸ noun:  a condition requiring relief ("She satisfied his need for affection")
▸ noun:  a state of extreme poverty or destitution ("A general state of need exists among the homeless")
▸ noun:  the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal; the reason for the action; that which gives purpose and direction to behavior
▸ verb:  have or feel a need for ("Always needing friends and money")
▸ verb:  have need of
▸ verb:  require as useful, just, or proper

I ponder at great length about wanting and needing.  If any of you have read Paulo Coelho’s  ‘ The Alchemist’,  you will know that a central theme in the story is wanting and needing…

"When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it."

I change it for myself just a small bit…

“When you want something, all the universe conspires to bring you what you need”

My life has been a constant reminder of this quote, I’ll give you an example… I wanted a biological child in my life. My wish was to find someone for my heart, and from the love that grew there, bring a new life into the world.  What I received, though… was quite different.  My wife was unable to have children, and so our path changed, and we adopted my little girl from the other side of the world; Siberia, in Russia What I received is what I needed, and that was the baby who became Hayley Anne.

Wanting one thing, and receiving another, is a recurring theme for my life.

I wanted a biological child, and I received the soul I needed
I wanted a love, and I received inner strength
I wanted money, and I received a job where I am surrounded by money that is not mine
I want peace, and I have received a vision of peace
I want love again, and I have received hope

Asking for what I want and receiving what I need is a destiny that I cannot change.  But considering how close the definition of want and need are - is there truly that much difference between the two? And if they are that close… well, then, how can I explain that my life has been filled with what I need, but not what I want?

-The Asking Boy (thinking he needs to consider the quote, "Be careful what you wish for...')


The Alchemist:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Alchemist_(novel)
Quotes from The Alchemist: http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Alchemist_(novel)