294. Four Things All Humans Need
For a press release of my new novel, Bill Hope: His Story, go Bill Hope can be ordered from Amazon and will be shipped after the release date of May 17, 2017. But the paperback, which goes for $20, will cost an additional $4.95 for shipping, unless you order books totaling $25 or more. The book is also available now from the author and will be mailed immediately ($20 + postage). And now, on to the four things.
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It came to me recently out of nowhere, in a flash: the four things all humans need:
1. To know fulfillment.2. To not be alone.3. To go home.4. To be free.
This assumes that we have what I call the basic basics: food, water, shelter, warmth – which, in today’s world, is quite an assumption. But given that we have these basic material needs, I see my four other needs as fundamental. They can be interpreted literally or figuratively, since each is open to multiple interpretations. Is “home,” for instance, a real place we remember and want to return to, or is it a place we have never in this life visited? Does “not to be alone” mean we want company, or something else? As for freedom, there are so many kinds. And these four can overlap: home or freedom might be our fulfillment; to not be alone may mean going home; and so on.
But maybe I’ve left something out. Ask yourself if these four are complete, or can you think of something else to be added? Let me know, and if your suggestion doesn’t seem to fit into any of my four needs, I’ll add it.
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BROWDERBOOKS: No Place for Normal: New York / Stories from the Most Exciting City in the World, my selection of posts from this blog, has received these awards: the Tenth Annual National Indie Excellence Award for Regional Non-Fiction; first place in the Travel category of the 2015-2016 Reader Views Literary Awards; and Honorable Mention in the Culture category of the Eric Hoffer Book Awards for 2016. For the Reader Views review by Sheri Hoyte, go here. As always, the book is available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
The Pleasuring of Men (Gival Press, 2011), the first novel in the Metropolis series, tells the story of a young male prostitute in the late 1860s in New York who falls in love with his most difficult client It is likewise available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Coming soon: As announced – I Hate Poetry.
© 2017 Clifford Browder
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James
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Apr 30, 2017 11:00AM
I find that all generalizations have exceptions. I just completed a book which included many interviews with sex workers, and commentary by a psychotherapist who had treated sex workers of former sex workers and she developed a theory that 'there is a basic human need to be touch or to touched, heard', not necessarily physically. As to your list, my father was extremely satisfied with his accomplishments- writing, and he said he didn't understand loneliness. Why would people be lonely? I suppose he was fortunate. He also didn't care what happened to him; whether we took away his medicine and let him die, put him in the VA or whatever. Thom Steinbeck, when he was very ill, told me he had no fear of death, but he had a home and a wife who took remarkable care of him.
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James wrote: "I find that all generalizations have exceptions. I just completed a book which included many interviews with sex workers, and commentary by a psychotherapist who had treated sex workers of former s..."A fascinating comment, and insightful. But many people -- not me -- are lonely, even if in contact with friends. We all have our needs and must try to understand those of others.
