How Do You Get What You Need?

Survival Tips
John Dennison -
4:35 pm

A tsunami of suffering is building, ready to crash down upon our land.  Many will be impacted.  Maybe even you.

Perhaps now is a good time to consider what you need in your life, and how do/will you get it once the wave hits?

I see several areas of things that are essential to survive in this world:

 

  • Shelter
  • Food and water
  • Money
  • Air
  • Light
  • Other people (covering areas like contact, connection, and communication)
  • Protection/safety
  • Transportation

Maslow wouldn’t have it any other way.  His hierarchy of needs is reproduced in the image above.

The issue for discussion today, however, is not WHAT you need in each of these areas, but HOW you will get it?  There are only three ways:

  1. Work for it;
  2. Take it;
  3. Receive it from someone else/charity/government.

Let’s discuss them in turn.

 

Work for it.

Working for what we want and need is the gold standard for surviving in this world.  It depends upon us taking responsibility for our own survival, and then doing whatever gainful work we can get to earn the money needed to get it.

Sure, there are other methods of creative manifestation that might impact how you go about it or the results you attain, but you get the idea.

Work. Get paid. Provide for your own needs.

When that work isn’t available or provide enough for the niceties we want and necessities we need, we’re denied the opportunity to exercise our responsibility to provide for ourselves (assuming that we as sentient beings put upon this planet have such responsibility).

While work is the socially acceptable solution, as well as the morally-redeemable choice for those of most spiritual traditions, that morality breaks down in times of social upheaval like we’re undergoing today.

The causes could be just about anything.  The list of possibilities is long.  Lockdowns. Lost jobs. Downsizing.  Corporate reorganizations. Artificial intelligence. Robotics.  Illness.  Accidents.  Not to mention the impact of cancel culture that says either do it our way, or don’t do it at all.

Moreover, in today’s upside down world, many don’t want to put in the effort or take the time to work for what they want/need.

That leads us to our next point.

 

Take it.

We all know this one.  Theft by any means is still theft.  Some even think taxation qualifies.

Crimes of dishonesty like theft, fraud, robbery and such have always been rampant in our world.  Again, there can be many reasons.

The easiest to swallow is taking without consent by someone who has exhausted every other means available without success, and they’re going to starve or be on the streets if they don’t.

That doesn’t make it right.  That’s a judgment call between them, society, their victims and God.  But it nevertheless remains a sin in the eyes of God in the Abrahamic religions.  The others don’t look so kindly on it, either, regardless of motive or cause.

Still, there are others that take what they want or need who haven’t even tried to work for it.  Some of those are so caught up in service-to-self they don’t even recognize the rights or interests of their victims, or care.

Others are distorted by misguided ideals, tribal interests or the energies of darkness and evil.  These provide the actors with justification (no matter how questionable) for their taking and a sense of entitled self-righteousness.

It directly pits taker against victim, and has wide-ranging repercussions for social order and harmonious relations.

This leads us to our last point:

 

Have it gifted by others

Whether it’s a gift from family, a donation from others (directly from individuals or through some charitable organization), or the receipt of benefits from the government, this is a form of getting what we need that seems to be sweeping across the land.

The morality and social structure built on hard work and individual responsibility has given way to the hope, expectation and/or demand that others provide it for us.  And if they won’t, then we’ll just have to do without, or find another way (see options for work and taking above).

Vast swathes of our society have been conditioned to look to government for the means to their survival.  From food stamps to health care to low-income housing, programs have been established to provide for the needs of those who can’t, or won’t, work to get it (and maybe even some of those who take it, too).

Issues of morality and responsibility aside, the burden falls upon the workers who produce to provide (through their donations or taxes) for those who can’t, won’t or don’t.

 

In closing.

Unfortunately, these issues are tools in a great political battle for power, where those who receive benefits are used as pawns to perpetuate their power games.  Government largess is dangled and promised to them at every turn, with each politician offering another way they can get without producing in exchange for their vote.

It is within this environment that we see playing out the civil unrest that has taken to the streets, media and universities.  Where it ends, no one knows.

But what we do know is that each of us must decide for ourselves what we’re willing to do for what we want and how we’ll go about getting it.

The phrase, “What’s in it for me?” comes to mind.  For the needs of our survival must be met, lest we don’t.

So I ask you, when push comes to shove, what will you do to get the means for your survival and that of your family?

Consider this carefully.  The future path of your soul — and survival of your ego in this world — hangs in the balance.

 

John Dennison
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