I see people these days, rushing to work, to put in their time, to make the boss happy or to get another order. You see them dressed down for the weekend, spending their quality time with those they love; doing activities for the kids or leaving home for a more relaxing place, usually the lake.

We have our homes and offices and the tools of our trade. We have our recreational toys, hobbies and places. We have our desires, never satisfied.

What do we not have? What do we not even know that we need?

You know what a thick juicy steak taste like, right? When was the last time that a loaf of bread tasted so good you could eat half of it, savoring every nutty bite. Which was better? Ever work outside in the winter until your bones are cold? When you come in, what does that cup of hot chocolate fill in you?

In our affluence we have successfully satisfied Mazlow's hierarchy of needs to such an extent that we don't know what it feels like to be hungry, cold or tired, and, more importantly, we don't know the satisfaction of satisfying our most basic needs.

It might seem strange to go looking for discomfort, but don't we suffer from a lack of satisfaction in even the best steak, or the most comfortable bed when we aren't truly tired or hungry. Are some of our problems; obesity, hypertension, depression maybe caused by looking for satisfaction from things that would provide it if only we really needed them? We pay others to do our work, while we sit there, being entertained. We drive, using $3 a gallon gas, when we could ride a bike to get groceries or go to a class or meeting. We pay a lawn service when we could be working in our garden. Our taxes clean up our roads and creeks, when we could take care of our own neighborhoods the same way we tend our personal property.

I hope we come to recognize the intrinsic value of a hard day's work and the satisfaction that comes from completing the job, and to know the kind of sleep that comes after your body is so tired that it can't go any further.

In the mean time, I intend to stop eating out of boredom, stop hiring work done that I can do myself and to step up to those jobs that I believe really need to be done, even if I'm not sure that I can handle them.

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