Towards the end of your piece you touched on the question that seems to guide our world at this time "What Do I Want" and questioned if perhaps a better focus might be "What Do I Need", I think? On needs versus wants, wondering if you are familiar with the writing of Manfred Max-Neef, who put out some great ideas on how to define "human needs". (His book Human Scale Development can be downloaded here: https://www.wtf.tw/ref/max-neef.pdf .) If your interested my take on the need to better understand human needs as a tool to help us find our way back to a more meaningful culture can be found here: https://placesiam.substack.com/p/no-thanks-to-happy-holidazed-all-i-want . Best of luck on the farm, where bringing people together to grow, preserve and share meals is one of the best places to learn the fine art of satisfying real human needs. Tom Jablonski
Thank you for these thoughtful comments. I have struggled a bit with "needs" because they seem often to lose sight of the humans who haven't been born yet, as well as the nonhumans who underwrite the whole thing. As in, is adequate food to stay alive a human need? Or is it a miraculous but far-from-guaranteed act of generosity on the part of soils, weathers, plants, animals? I have found "How can I be of service?" a more fruitful question than "What do I need?," because it assumes that God(s) have an interest in keeping life-serving humans around. One of my teachers asks it this way, "What if we were needed more than we were needy?" That's from Stephen Jenkinson. I look forward to reading your piece. Thank you. Adam
My path to asking "What do I need" actually started from the point of asking something similar to "how can I be of service". In my late 30ies found my self in the midst of sort of an early midlife crisis and ended up in a couple of 12 step programs where I learned that their "leaders are but trusted servants, they do not govern" and the power of service in recovery pointed out in the recovery triangle formed by the practices of the three concepts of unity, service, and recovery. From there I got into the study of the concept of "servant-leadership" as professed by Robert Greenleaf (he wrote a great essay about the concept available here https://ia903205.us.archive.org/12/items/20200601-the-servant-as-leader/20200601_THE%20SERVANT%20AS%20LEADER_text.pdf , sorry probably too long to read). Anyway as one who ran into some roadblocks and burnout while trying to perform acts of service I found a need to get a better handle on what it was I was trying to do. Hence why I really liked finding the writings of Max-Neef and his take on what constitutes human needs, of which I think a healthy understanding of is important for anyone trying to serve others, which can be a dangerous thing if done while not really understanding who or what it is one is serving. My take on Max-Neef is that his view on human needs takes into account the future humans, and the non-humans as well.
Anyway thanks for he response and enjoy springtime on the farm and if you ever need more to read, check out Max-Neef.
Beautiful Tom. Thank you. I have written some about the practice of making requests that is central to gift economics, the language for which I drew originally from Non Violent Communication, a framework for relationality that focuses on inviting others to help us meet our needs non-coercively. Perhaps you are familiar? I became a bit disillusioned with NVC until a friend of mine offered a reframe of "meeting our needs" here in the materially-inundated West. She offered the image of "meeting" a stranger, perhaps extending the hand to shake and learn the name. I might "meet" a need this way and then say, "Thank you for looking out for my best interest. Now I understand why I was so fixated on manifesting a certain outcome. In order to ensure the health of the whole, you aren't going to be satisfied right now."
Adam, in thinking about your teacher's question that you shared above, "What if we were needed more than we were needy?" I am reminded of the deep joy of the nuance of language. Talk about gifts and gratitude! What you ponder and offer in your newsletter would not be possible without your and other's embrace of and skill with, in our case, English. At some point, if it is a fit for you, I would be interested in your understanding, if any, of the language and communication you experience with the non-human animals, with whom you work and live so closely.
You have tapped something so rich here. As I leafed through the book I quoted from in the Newsletter, Long Life Honey in the Heart, I found a paragraph about the relationship between eloquence and adulthood for the Maya. I've found this written in many places about people living in oral cultures (insert "indigenous" here). The fine nuance and chant-like quality of human speech was seen as a food for the Givers of Life. The way humans could be in reciprocity with the reckless generosity of the landscapes they called home. I'll pull the quote when I'm back with the book and try to post it here. Once the nonhumans become de-animated, we run the risk of hearing gestures towards eloquence as one-up-man-ship, word-jousting. I worry about that confusion in my writing. In my understanding, I am attempting to write and speak in ways that might make the nonhumans smile, in the same way I experience the blush of chartreuse on Aspen's fingertips this morning. All courtship. Perhaps you can see this in the making of visual art?
I think I understand what you are saying here. Though I don't quite get, "Once the nonhumans become de-animated..."
My first thought about the relationship this conversation might have to the making of art, or at least my personal practice of doing so, is the sense of longing to connect, which is mostly non-verbal and, at its essense, resists commodification.
By that I mean not that nonhumans became any less alive over time, but that the human awareness stopped being able to perceive them as fully animate/sentient. For a thorough treatment of this history take a look at David Abram's Spell of the Sensuous. It's one of the finest books I've ever read. I haven't quoted from it in a newsletter recently, but his work underwrites everything I do.
Whoa Adam! You’re serving us up some well prepared and thoughtfully presented food for thought. I am at challenging crossroads in my life having just turned 60 and coming out of a decades long illness. I’m on the mend and feeling hopeful physically, but my soul is struggling. I’m a licensed therapist by profession, but no longer feel passion for the work, and yet still need to figure out how to support myself while simultaneously care for my soul’s long neglected desires. How to contribute to our collective healing and survive is a conundrum. Your path is inspiring and since I feel I’ve “fallen off the treadmill” myself, I can’t thank you enough for your courage and integrity to live in service. Blessings to you, Heather
Thank you Heather. The only nudge I'd make is to consider changing the language slightly from "supporting myself" to "asking to be sustained," as it opens the door a crack to allow in the possibility for courtship, service, and prayer. Asking other humans to sustain me has been the most humbling worthiness exercise. I acknowledge that it will be too much for some people, but I sense that there are more people out there than we might think who are ready to become local culture workers and more people out there than we think who are ready to become patrons of these culture workers. I could be wrong, but I'd rather die having pleaded for something that didn't come to pass than giving up on our collective capacity for mutual sustenance. Thank you for writing. Adam
I love that..."asking to be sustained." Ultimately we are all sustaining one another anyways, and with your help I see know my phrase "supporting myself" is impossible as the entire Universe is sustaining each and every one of us already. I pray I am able to also commit to the idea of mutual sustenance and cultivate it in this lifetime. Thank you for the nudge Adam!
I think of it as a trust fall. And I hear it as a request in the Lord's Prayer: "give us this day our daily bread," which helps us remember to forgive others, again and again. To my ear, this was subversive indigenizing gift economy language introduced into the heart of civilization. Graham Pardun has just written an excellent essay on this called The Messianic Feast.
I can feel the resonance of this “trust fall” life in Graham’s writings too. The wisdom you both share is slowly infiltrating my own heart, mind and soul… subversive, radical and transformative you both are. Many many thanks.
Morning Adam and thanks for the additional information. I am not familiar with Non-Violent Communication, but found the Wikipedia summary about the Marshall Rosenberg version and it looks interesting. Noticed an interesting reference to Max-Neef's human needs model "Marshall Rosenberg refers to Max-Neef's model where needs may be categorised into 9 classes: sustenance, safety, love, understanding/empathy, creativity, recreation, sense of belonging, autonomy and meaning.[15] For more information, the Center for Nonviolent Communication has developed a needs inventory." I think I shall look into it some more. If you get a minute, let me know if you have any other suggested references to the topic. I read a few of your pieces related to gift economics and like what you say. Noticed a reference to David Graeber's DEBT, one of my favorite books, although I have never not liked any of Graeber's books. Too bad his writing career was cut short. Anyway, thanks again for your responses and have a great day!
My path to asking "What do I need" actually started from the point of asking something similar to "how can I be of service". In my late 30ies found my self in the midst of sort of an early midlife crisis and ended up in a couple of 12 step programs where I learned that their "leaders are but trusted servants, they do not govern" and the power of service in recovery pointed out in the recovery triangle formed by the practices of the three concepts of unity, service, and recovery. From there I got into the study of the concept of "servant-leadership" as professed by Robert Greenleaf (he wrote a great essay about the concept available here https://ia903205.us.archive.org/12/items/20200601-the-servant-as-leader/20200601_THE%20SERVANT%20AS%20LEADER_text.pdf , sorry probably too long to read). Anyway as one who ran into some roadblocks and burnout while trying to perform acts of service I found a need to get a better handle on what it was I was trying to do. Hence why I really liked finding the writings of Max-Neef and his take on what constitutes human needs, of which I think a healthy understanding of is important for anyone trying to serve others, which can be a dangerous thing if done while not really understanding who or what it is one is serving. Anyway thanks for the response and enjoy springtime on the farm, and check out Max-Neef if you ever need - something to read!
Adam,
Towards the end of your piece you touched on the question that seems to guide our world at this time "What Do I Want" and questioned if perhaps a better focus might be "What Do I Need", I think? On needs versus wants, wondering if you are familiar with the writing of Manfred Max-Neef, who put out some great ideas on how to define "human needs". (His book Human Scale Development can be downloaded here: https://www.wtf.tw/ref/max-neef.pdf .) If your interested my take on the need to better understand human needs as a tool to help us find our way back to a more meaningful culture can be found here: https://placesiam.substack.com/p/no-thanks-to-happy-holidazed-all-i-want . Best of luck on the farm, where bringing people together to grow, preserve and share meals is one of the best places to learn the fine art of satisfying real human needs. Tom Jablonski
Greetings Tom,
Thank you for these thoughtful comments. I have struggled a bit with "needs" because they seem often to lose sight of the humans who haven't been born yet, as well as the nonhumans who underwrite the whole thing. As in, is adequate food to stay alive a human need? Or is it a miraculous but far-from-guaranteed act of generosity on the part of soils, weathers, plants, animals? I have found "How can I be of service?" a more fruitful question than "What do I need?," because it assumes that God(s) have an interest in keeping life-serving humans around. One of my teachers asks it this way, "What if we were needed more than we were needy?" That's from Stephen Jenkinson. I look forward to reading your piece. Thank you. Adam
My path to asking "What do I need" actually started from the point of asking something similar to "how can I be of service". In my late 30ies found my self in the midst of sort of an early midlife crisis and ended up in a couple of 12 step programs where I learned that their "leaders are but trusted servants, they do not govern" and the power of service in recovery pointed out in the recovery triangle formed by the practices of the three concepts of unity, service, and recovery. From there I got into the study of the concept of "servant-leadership" as professed by Robert Greenleaf (he wrote a great essay about the concept available here https://ia903205.us.archive.org/12/items/20200601-the-servant-as-leader/20200601_THE%20SERVANT%20AS%20LEADER_text.pdf , sorry probably too long to read). Anyway as one who ran into some roadblocks and burnout while trying to perform acts of service I found a need to get a better handle on what it was I was trying to do. Hence why I really liked finding the writings of Max-Neef and his take on what constitutes human needs, of which I think a healthy understanding of is important for anyone trying to serve others, which can be a dangerous thing if done while not really understanding who or what it is one is serving. My take on Max-Neef is that his view on human needs takes into account the future humans, and the non-humans as well.
Anyway thanks for he response and enjoy springtime on the farm and if you ever need more to read, check out Max-Neef.
Beautiful Tom. Thank you. I have written some about the practice of making requests that is central to gift economics, the language for which I drew originally from Non Violent Communication, a framework for relationality that focuses on inviting others to help us meet our needs non-coercively. Perhaps you are familiar? I became a bit disillusioned with NVC until a friend of mine offered a reframe of "meeting our needs" here in the materially-inundated West. She offered the image of "meeting" a stranger, perhaps extending the hand to shake and learn the name. I might "meet" a need this way and then say, "Thank you for looking out for my best interest. Now I understand why I was so fixated on manifesting a certain outcome. In order to ensure the health of the whole, you aren't going to be satisfied right now."
Adam, in thinking about your teacher's question that you shared above, "What if we were needed more than we were needy?" I am reminded of the deep joy of the nuance of language. Talk about gifts and gratitude! What you ponder and offer in your newsletter would not be possible without your and other's embrace of and skill with, in our case, English. At some point, if it is a fit for you, I would be interested in your understanding, if any, of the language and communication you experience with the non-human animals, with whom you work and live so closely.
Diane,
You have tapped something so rich here. As I leafed through the book I quoted from in the Newsletter, Long Life Honey in the Heart, I found a paragraph about the relationship between eloquence and adulthood for the Maya. I've found this written in many places about people living in oral cultures (insert "indigenous" here). The fine nuance and chant-like quality of human speech was seen as a food for the Givers of Life. The way humans could be in reciprocity with the reckless generosity of the landscapes they called home. I'll pull the quote when I'm back with the book and try to post it here. Once the nonhumans become de-animated, we run the risk of hearing gestures towards eloquence as one-up-man-ship, word-jousting. I worry about that confusion in my writing. In my understanding, I am attempting to write and speak in ways that might make the nonhumans smile, in the same way I experience the blush of chartreuse on Aspen's fingertips this morning. All courtship. Perhaps you can see this in the making of visual art?
I think I understand what you are saying here. Though I don't quite get, "Once the nonhumans become de-animated..."
My first thought about the relationship this conversation might have to the making of art, or at least my personal practice of doing so, is the sense of longing to connect, which is mostly non-verbal and, at its essense, resists commodification.
Thank you for your response and the question.
Hi Diane,
By that I mean not that nonhumans became any less alive over time, but that the human awareness stopped being able to perceive them as fully animate/sentient. For a thorough treatment of this history take a look at David Abram's Spell of the Sensuous. It's one of the finest books I've ever read. I haven't quoted from it in a newsletter recently, but his work underwrites everything I do.
Whoa Adam! You’re serving us up some well prepared and thoughtfully presented food for thought. I am at challenging crossroads in my life having just turned 60 and coming out of a decades long illness. I’m on the mend and feeling hopeful physically, but my soul is struggling. I’m a licensed therapist by profession, but no longer feel passion for the work, and yet still need to figure out how to support myself while simultaneously care for my soul’s long neglected desires. How to contribute to our collective healing and survive is a conundrum. Your path is inspiring and since I feel I’ve “fallen off the treadmill” myself, I can’t thank you enough for your courage and integrity to live in service. Blessings to you, Heather
Thank you Heather. The only nudge I'd make is to consider changing the language slightly from "supporting myself" to "asking to be sustained," as it opens the door a crack to allow in the possibility for courtship, service, and prayer. Asking other humans to sustain me has been the most humbling worthiness exercise. I acknowledge that it will be too much for some people, but I sense that there are more people out there than we might think who are ready to become local culture workers and more people out there than we think who are ready to become patrons of these culture workers. I could be wrong, but I'd rather die having pleaded for something that didn't come to pass than giving up on our collective capacity for mutual sustenance. Thank you for writing. Adam
I love that..."asking to be sustained." Ultimately we are all sustaining one another anyways, and with your help I see know my phrase "supporting myself" is impossible as the entire Universe is sustaining each and every one of us already. I pray I am able to also commit to the idea of mutual sustenance and cultivate it in this lifetime. Thank you for the nudge Adam!
I think of it as a trust fall. And I hear it as a request in the Lord's Prayer: "give us this day our daily bread," which helps us remember to forgive others, again and again. To my ear, this was subversive indigenizing gift economy language introduced into the heart of civilization. Graham Pardun has just written an excellent essay on this called The Messianic Feast.
I can feel the resonance of this “trust fall” life in Graham’s writings too. The wisdom you both share is slowly infiltrating my own heart, mind and soul… subversive, radical and transformative you both are. Many many thanks.
Morning Adam and thanks for the additional information. I am not familiar with Non-Violent Communication, but found the Wikipedia summary about the Marshall Rosenberg version and it looks interesting. Noticed an interesting reference to Max-Neef's human needs model "Marshall Rosenberg refers to Max-Neef's model where needs may be categorised into 9 classes: sustenance, safety, love, understanding/empathy, creativity, recreation, sense of belonging, autonomy and meaning.[15] For more information, the Center for Nonviolent Communication has developed a needs inventory." I think I shall look into it some more. If you get a minute, let me know if you have any other suggested references to the topic. I read a few of your pieces related to gift economics and like what you say. Noticed a reference to David Graeber's DEBT, one of my favorite books, although I have never not liked any of Graeber's books. Too bad his writing career was cut short. Anyway, thanks again for your responses and have a great day!
My path to asking "What do I need" actually started from the point of asking something similar to "how can I be of service". In my late 30ies found my self in the midst of sort of an early midlife crisis and ended up in a couple of 12 step programs where I learned that their "leaders are but trusted servants, they do not govern" and the power of service in recovery pointed out in the recovery triangle formed by the practices of the three concepts of unity, service, and recovery. From there I got into the study of the concept of "servant-leadership" as professed by Robert Greenleaf (he wrote a great essay about the concept available here https://ia903205.us.archive.org/12/items/20200601-the-servant-as-leader/20200601_THE%20SERVANT%20AS%20LEADER_text.pdf , sorry probably too long to read). Anyway as one who ran into some roadblocks and burnout while trying to perform acts of service I found a need to get a better handle on what it was I was trying to do. Hence why I really liked finding the writings of Max-Neef and his take on what constitutes human needs, of which I think a healthy understanding of is important for anyone trying to serve others, which can be a dangerous thing if done while not really understanding who or what it is one is serving. Anyway thanks for the response and enjoy springtime on the farm, and check out Max-Neef if you ever need - something to read!