Just the other day I paused, post-cleaning, to admire and celebrate my sparkling clean toilets. This a regular, cyclical occurrence in my world; I reluctantly force myself to face my bathrooms, and, afterwards I bask in some sort of weird sanitary glow. I am filled with joy even though I am completely aware that soon the users of the toilets will return home and soil my precious gleaming, germ free, porcelain surfaces.While putting my sponges, brushes and cleaners back under the kitchen sink I began to think of a certain Mr. Maslow and his colorful pyramid of human-ness. I studied Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs at Texas Tech, no doubt preparing me for my current role as a Domestic Engineer and Manager of Everyone Else's Crap.
Perhaps it was the fact that the temporary purity of my bathrooms made me so completely joyous that Maslow came to mind. What are my needs and what really makes me happy on a day to day basis? Normally, it is the basic stuff that keeps me going, I look forward to special events and enjoy planning them and anticipating their arrival, but, like Maslow asserted, if the basic stuff is covered I am "good to go" and can move up the layered triangle to the next set of needs.
Well, I could have vacuumed up some dog hair next, but, I opted instead, quite obviously, for creating my own pyramid of needs. Ultimately, I was surprised at how similar my layered triangle of essentials were to Maslow's. If so required, I could loosely present arguments that would fit my "needs" into his categories, and, vice-versa.
Further thought led me to wonder, are my needs (1). Sad; a reflection on a mundane suburban life? (2). Completely Honest? (3). Selfish; a reflection on a self centered culture sated with stuff? (4). Really "Needs" at all, or, perhaps more like "Wants"? or (5). Scientific and Sheer Genius; soon to be published in a journal of academia, destined to be heralded as the next tier of advancement in the study of human motivations?
Either way, the vacuum is off, and, I'm not cleaning anything, yet . . .
