In order:

clean water

food

shelter

basic sanitation

company

That is it, really. I should include tobacco as a need, since I am addicted to it. Otherwise, take all of the rest of it away and I will be alright. I would miss plenty of things. I would come to like new things and slowly the things I started off missing would fade in my memory. They would be like the birthday cakes my great aunt made for me before she died, the zucchini bread fresh from my great grandma’s garden and long aimless car rides on summer evenings with friends when I was a kid.

I miss these things, but they are not irreplaceable. They were good while they lasted and will forever be a part of my memories, but I don’t need them. Every once in a while I start looking at objects and occupations as anchors keeping me in place. Nooses around my neck. I want to be free. I want only what I need.

The rest can disappear tomorrow and I would continue on without them. Maybe I would even come out on the other side better from the shed weight of it all.

This is an abnormally personal post for me, but it is an important component to my thought process so it is worth including. If you read this, make your own list of what you need, and then make a list of all of the other stuff and see which list ends up being longer.

contemplatively fucked,

mike

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