In Need of No Needs
Note to reader - This is a new Friday blog feature I’m trying out that may or may not have anything to do with writing or marketing, but does have something to do with serious questions that linger in our minds, ones that gently (or not so gently) ask for our attention. I call it Wandering and Wondering, and hope you’ll join the conversation. I have more questions than answers, but perhaps by wandering and wondering together we’ll learn something new and unexpected.
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Last week I was reading Thomas Merton, and when I came across this passage, it stopped me dead in my tracks.
“‘I will not make you such rich men as have need of many things,’ said Philoxenos (putting the words on the lips of Christ), ‘but I will make you true rich men who have need of nothing. Since it is not he who has many possessions that is rich, but he who has no needs.’ Obviously, we shall always have some needs. But only he who has the simplest and most natural needs can be considered to be without needs, since the only needs he has are real ones, and the real ones are not hard to fulfill if one is a free man!” (Thomas Merton, Raids on the Unspeakable, 1966)
There’s a strong statement against Western-style materialism if ever there was one. On the one hand, it’s easy to see the truth of these words. Doesn’t it seem the more you have, the more you want? I know, we probably all know, successful business people who appear to have everything but seem spiritually exhausted, fed up with the daily grind.
And yet.
How many of us has the courage of Thomas Merton, who left the world to live in solitude, leaving behind not only his possessions, but his family, his friends, his reputation, his promising career, and his very identity? Not me. The idea of living without needs is appealing in the abstract, but when push comes to shove, I don’t want to give up my GPS, let alone my car. If I were convinced having no needs would make me free, truly and completely free, my car would be gone in a flash, along with everything else.
Rationalizations come easy. I tell myself the whole world couldn’t live the way Merton did. It’s all a matter of degree, of balance, of keeping things in proportion. But how much is enough? How do you know when you have enough “things”? And how can you tell the difference between what you really need and what you think you need? Like I said, I have lots of questions, but not many answers.
Are material needs a prison? Have you ever felt imprisoned by your own needs? I sometimes do.
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*Thomas Merton started out as an intellectually gifted man of letters, but abruptly left the New York City literary scene to become a Trappist monk in Kentucky. He became one of the most influential Catholic writers of the 20th century. He wrote about many things — spiritual growth, the spiritual condition of modern man, contemplative prayer among others. He also had a great interest in Buddhism and Eastern philosophy. Those traditions colored his ideas and his writings helped bridge the gap between East and West.
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Brad, I like Wandering and Wondering Friday! Reading Merton always causes me to do deep self examination. I see a trend among my peers toward simplicity. However, the shedding of things happens after the internal work that leads to fulfillment. I think that is the key. We start filling up from the inside and that then drives our external needs. I look forward to these Friday discussions Brad!
Karen Swims last blog post..A Day of Rememberance
Hi Brad - like you, I don’t think I could go as far as Merton. But I am trying to streamline what I have, because I really feel bogged down by all this material stuff and junk sometimes.
I’ve stopped using a mobile phone - aside from for emergencies because it was a nuisance. And we also cut down from a car each to just one to share. I’ve still a lot more stuuf I need to get rid of too.
Karen, True enough. If you are full on the inside, how much do you really need from the outside? Cath, That is a bold move doing away with the mobile phone, because it’s a real sacrifice. Have you noticed your quality of life has improved?
Brad Shorrs last blog post..In Need of No Needs
Well now Brad, I know you have read about my 90-day experiment earlier this morning, so our synchronicity is interesting. You are helping me calendar Friday as a day I will list checking in with you, for I anticipate some “Going Short and Deep” discussions here (or Saturday once the discussion gets going as it surely will!)
As for needs, I’ve been someone who always prided herself on needing very little materially, fully aware I thrive in fierce independence and need complete freedom (and material possessions can weigh you down, interfering with mobility). As I get older however, I find that what Michael Stallard calls a “connection culture” is extremely important to me, and what I need most are those good relationships which add rich texture to my life —and just those possessions (laptop, telephone, in-person adventures) that help me maintain them.
Rosa Says last blog post..One Woman’s Journey to Being a Writer… A Fairy Tale of Epic Proportions
Rosa, I aspire to be more like you, truly. Good luck with your experiment. Like Cath, you are really taking a serious step by trying to reduce your burden of reading. I guess when reading becomes a burden, that’s a pretty strong signal something needs to change.
Brad Shorrs last blog post..In Need of No Needs
Hi Brad
I like the idea of Wandering and Wondering too. Your posts are always thoughtful so I think this will be a neat fit, especially for those who like to have a good blether, or sit around chewing the fat…
I find the idea of getting rid of ‘needs’ hard… easier to think about shedding some material things. For example I stepped away from a very well paid job and gave up on a lot of material goods as a result… but it was mainly driven by things I felt I needed - the freedom to think, to live more creatively, to travel, to wander and wonder a fair bit.
Maybe need isn’t the right word for this but it was a very strong impulse, a drive maybe, to live in a different way. Not because I felt I ’should’ but because I felt I needed to in order to survive.
Hope that makes sense
Thanks for getting us thinking and reflecting
Joanna
Joanna Youngs last blog post..10 Posts On The Theme of Respect
Brad,
your idea of Wandering and Wondering is great!
Regarding needs: There are needs which are “material stuff” - just like this laptop I am just writing on, and the printer, the access to the internet, and my digital camera. I could not do without that. Of course, my flat. Some clothes. A CD player, radio set. Books (I avoid to buy books - I fetch them from the library). The TV set (okay, I could do without it for a few days, but not in general).
But immaterial needs are much more important to me: the need to have good friends, to have interesting talks, to care for my health, to feel the wind in my hair and on my cheeks.
Ulla Hennigs last blog post..In the Neighbourhood
Joanna, Ulla, you seem to have a good and healthy balance between material and non material needs. Ulla, if I were going to get rid of one possession only, it would be the TV. Not quite ready to take that leap yet. Joanna, was it hard for you to make the leap and leave your job? I was in a similar situation and it took a long time to sort things out.
Brad Shorrs last blog post..In Need of No Needs
I’ve always lived simply because too much stuff is distracting. I went for years without watching TV, but now I tape some programs and watch them while I exercise on my NordicTrack treadmill or jog on my trampoline. It works for me.
Jean Browman–Cheerful Monks last blog post..Making Hay While the Sun Shines
Brad, yes it was hard. Took me about a year to pluck up the courage and get things in place. But somehow I always knew that I *would* do it, because of the sense of necessity that went alongside it.
Joanna Youngs last blog post..What I’ve Learned About Writing From My Friends Online
Jean, Do you find a trampoline a good way to stimulate creativity? I’m always tempted to jump on one when I see one, but I fear it would blow out my knee once and for all. Joanna, perhaps one day you could give us an update on how life is blossoming for you in your new home …?
Brad Shorrs last blog post..Never a Dull Moment - 3 News Items from Word Sell