Last sunday night, after acquiring 2 new tops as a reward for demolishing a 3-inch stack of marking, I was mechanically chewing on mouthfuls of tasteless vegetarian rice when my thoughts turned to good old Maslow.
(i.e Abraham Maslow proposed, in his 1943 paper, "A Theory of Human Motivation" that as humans meet their basic needs, they seek to satisfy successively higher needs that occupy a set hierarchy)
And I start to question the meaning of life, again. Sometimes I think I am really low-level - fancy feeling fulfiled just because I met some lifeless work target and got some factory-cloned tops as evidence of reward of my "achievement"...
What followed was a self-directed, back-forth, structure-less bouncing of ideas and arguments within my tiny lump of grey matter.
Are we as evolved as we think we are, in terms of needs & aspirations? Or are we no different from our primitive cousins who live out their existence climbing trees?
Do we embrace life by indulging in material pleasures & prestige? Or do we seek release from societal norms in pursuit of abstract goals?
Would we be happy if we self-actualize as habitants without material security?
One day, after my family's taken care of, I'd be tempted to leave behind all, and spend a year or two as a nameless unknown, a wanderer-worker who volunteers in some far flung developing country, or an insignificant extra who follow some performing troupe as they traverse the globe...
What say you, good ole Maslow?
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