Maslow - A Ring, Not A Ladder

I'm still phoning Social Security and leaving a lot of messages. I'll be doing that all day today too. Maybe sometime Stephanie will get tired of my messages and actually get back to me? One can hope. But in the meanwhile, life goes on. Like many of you, I practice my art and my crafts regularly, because practice improves the final result. Life is like that in many ways. Many years ago a gentleman named Maslow came up with a ladder - a ladder of personal achievement and contentment. I'm sure you've seen it in the past. It looks like this: 

Maslow's Hierarchy - there's actually a lot of good here, but does
it apply the way it's presented here? 

The structure is presented that you start at the bottom and work your way up, each step getting closer to a life of comfort and self-actualization. Of course, that bottom layer - food, shelter, clothing, air to breathe, water to drink, and the ability to have offspring comprises the basic essentials of life on this planet. All creatures start at the baseline, but then we begin moving onward, and it becomes a little harder with each step. 

Here are the basic needs for humanity. Actually, I'd say these
are the basic needs for all of life on this planet. 

Safety - something that a lot of people simple don't have. This covers employment, personal security, health, property of one's own and resources available if needed. This is still pretty basic. It is one step above "Let's find an empty cave to camp out in for a while," and has moved to "Let's rent an apartment that's close to a grocery store." I do consider the first two steps on the hierarchy to be essential to most people's lives, but I'm also well aware that some people don't get to Stage 2 at all. 

We come into human needs with the next level - Orange. Here
you are looking for a job, need your health, and want
items that belong to you. You also need a certain level of
personal security. 

Stage 3 is intimacy - a companion, a friend, a lover. Stage three won't put food on the table or a paycheck into your hand, but it fills a need that we all share - that need for a friend to turn to. You start reaching out to other people when you're a baby. You smile, you coo, you reach up your arms, and you spit up over their shirts. Friendship can sometimes be a bit of a trial. That interchange with another person, that back and forth and having one another's backs, it can be a lifeline when the two stages below it become a bit rocky and unsteady. 

The yellow level give us connections outside ourselves. This
is important for most people and animals, but not 100%. The
pool is shrinking. This is the first level that I put on the
outside of the ring. It's important, but not essential. 

I think the last two stages are the hardest to achieve and to stand on securely. Esteem is not only self-esteem (not the easiest goal in itself), but also the esteem of others expressed through respect and recognition. It also comprises the freedom to strive for this stage, something that usually requires the first three stages to be somewhat secure. Our tower of chairs is starting to wobble quite a bit. 

Here's what comprises most of the outside of my ring. These are
essential to making a person, but not as important as breathing
and eating. Still, they have importance. 

Finally, self-actualization is at the to of the ladder - the stratosphere. Here is your personal drive to be the best that you can be. Hmmmmm ... here's where I disagree with Maslow. I think, even though you might be fighting for your next meal, trudging to the next watering hole, or digging yourself out of the latest problem, you won't care at all if you don't want to improve yourself. After all, if you don't want to be the best you can be, why bother at all? . 

Sometimes just hugging a teddy bear is everything! 

So maybe Maslow, instead of being a ladder, should be a ring with each step important. The interior of the ring is the metal - that's your physical needs which are paramount. But the psychological needs, equally important but a bit harder to nail down when you're starving or on the run, those are the decoration on the top of the ring. That's where the orange, green and blue reside. All parts of the ring can be touched at any time when you wear it, but only the inside is in constant 100% contact with you at all times. 

So there you go - my philosophy for the day. Why do all of this? Because we can all grow and get better at any time. On that note, I'm off to the gym, and then I'll start phoning Social Security once again. That's a red item, so I need it on the interior of my ring. Have a great Wednesday, I'll be back tomorrow.