Needs, Wants, Desires & Dreams

According to Maslow, there are 5 levels of human needs.
The most basic would be our physiological ones - like air, food, water.
It then moves up to safety, love(& belonging),esteem and at the apex, self-actualisation.
Once we are have the needs at each level met, we should then move up hierarchy to fill up the void.

Yet,as humans...we have an insatiable 'hunger'...we are always wanting 'something.
It is not just food.
We crave for many, many things, and that is where wants, dreams, desires, goals, ambitions, or whatever you may want to call it, come in.
Something within us will drive us to seek for them...and pushes us to obtain it.

Are our 'wants' our 'needs'?
It's getting tough to to distinguish which is which.
I know myself that there will always be things that I go after...from those little tubs of Ben & Jerry's to even bigger dreams like that PhD someday. Could my wants be stemmed from some unfulfilled needs?

Anyway, I found something which I hope would be of good use to me ... as a teacher, parent and an individual. It is taken from the University of Honolulu website.
It points out how we can develop our children and ourselves ... by focusing on the fulfilling our needs.

1.We should teach people to be authentic, to be aware of their inner selves and to hear their inner-feeling voices.

2.We should teach people to transcend their cultural conditioning and become world citizens.

3.We should help people discover their vocation in life, their calling, fate or destiny. This is especially focused on finding the right career and the right mate.

4.We should teach people that life is precious, that there is joy to be experienced in life, and if people are open to seeing the good and joyous in all kinds of situations, it makes life worth living.

5.We must accept the person as he or she is and help the person learn their inner nature. From real knowledge of aptitudes and limitations we can know what to build upon, what potentials are really there.

6.We must see that the person's basic needs are satisfied. This includes safety, belongingness, and esteem needs.

7.We should refreshen consciousness, teaching the person to appreciate beauty and the other good things in nature and in living.

8.We should teach people that controls are good, and complete abandon is bad. It takes control to improve the quality of life in all areas.

9.We should teach people to transcend the trifling problems and grapple with the serious problems in life. These include the problems of injustice, of pain, suffering, and death.

10.We must teach people to be good choosers. They must be given practice in making good choices,

Prayer for today:
Dear God, I thank you for the 'wake up call', for I have I have not been conscious of my actions lately. Give me strength to do the things I have to do, and the sanity and faith to move on. Ameen