Wants vs needs: A few thoughts on needs in 2021.
There are some core needs that will probably always exist. Food, water, shelter are probably not stepping down from the top spots in the category of need. But other needs come and go with the time we live in.
Electricity has not always been a need. There was a time when it was… not anything. But at some point in time electricity was an invention that turned to something only a few had, then became a status of wealth, then was available to the masses, and then it was grafted into the fabric of our society. At this point (in American life) electricity is need. Our society is literally built around electricity.
Just look at what happened in Texas last month. An ice storm hit most of the state and caused serious havoc. It eventually caused the breaking of the electric grid. In a moment of hours your food is going to be going bad, temperatures are going to drop inside your house, and then so many people were left stranded inside own homes. It was a reminder of how fast out situations can change from a force outside of our control.
Internet access is another example of a want-turned-need, especially in 2020 and 2021. So much of our society was already built on and around the internet, but the pandemic that started in March of 2020 was a catalyst to solidify the fact that internet access is a need and it’s here to stay. I have spent the better part of a year working from home and my kids have spent most of their year at home with virtual school; internet access was our gateway to getting anything accomplished.
I don’t feel bad for needing access to internet. That has become a need in my industry and without the internet, a large portion of my job would not be possible. Internet is essential (today). Could we create a society where the ability to get online is no longer essential? Of course. But, it’s not that easy to just make a change. That kind of change would wreck our world for a long time and then, from the aftermath, something new would emerge. It’s a need as long as our society runs off the internet (which needs… electricity as well).
I’m trying to figure out what I need this year. 2020 left me down and out in several areas, so I am trying to discern what I need to have this year to make it a success.
There are some core needs that will probably always exist. Food, water, shelter are probably not stepping down from the top spots in the category of need. But other needs come and go with the time we live in.
Electricity has not always been a need. There was a time when it was… not anything. But at some point in time electricity was an invention that turned to something only a few had, then became a status of wealth, then was available to the masses, and then it was grafted into the fabric of our society. At this point (in American life) electricity is need. Our society is literally built around electricity.
Just look at what happened in Texas last month. An ice storm hit most of the state and caused serious havoc. It eventually caused the breaking of the electric grid. In a moment of hours your food is going to be going bad, temperatures are going to drop inside your house, and then so many people were left stranded inside own homes. It was a reminder of how fast out situations can change from a force outside of our control.
Internet access is another example of a want-turned-need, especially in 2020 and 2021. So much of our society was already built on and around the internet, but the pandemic that started in March of 2020 was a catalyst to solidify the fact that internet access is a need and it’s here to stay. I have spent the better part of a year working from home and my kids have spent most of their year at home with virtual school; internet access was our gateway to getting anything accomplished.
I don’t feel bad for needing access to internet. That has become a need in my industry and without the internet, a large portion of my job would not be possible. Internet is essential (today). Could we create a society where the ability to get online is no longer essential? Of course. But, it’s not that easy to just make a change. That kind of change would wreck our world for a long time and then, from the aftermath, something new would emerge. It’s a need as long as our society runs off the internet (which needs… electricity as well).
I’m trying to figure out what I need this year. 2020 left me down and out in several areas, so I am trying to discern what I need to have this year to make it a success.