429. Immaterial Needs

When I feel an unmet need, my first impulse is to look for a material solution. I’m lacking something, so I reason there must be some object or experience that could fill the void. And indeed, many problems of need can be solved in this way. In particular, I manage to meet the majority of the needs of my body through material solutions reached through simple practical reasoning. So it is perhaps no surprise that seeking a material solution is my first reaction.

I then begin searching for some object or experience that I believe will meet my need. If I have access to resources, this might be straightforward, but if I do not, I might need to expend incredible time and effort to obtain what I am seeking. But even after expending considerable resources and perhaps attaining some temporary happiness, the problem of need persists. Despite the improvement of my material situation, my need remains unchanged.

In my rush to find a material solution, I’ve forgotten to ask whether my need can be met through material (or instrumental) means. Many needs can be met only through specific kinds of action, in particular those actions that are loving, creative, or otherwise purposeful. When I’m distracted by attachment to beliefs about material solutions, I blind myself to the possibility that other kinds of solutions are available.

Instead of expending effort and resources on material fixes, I need to allow myself to more carefully observe what is happening in me. When I can see my need more clearly, I also become more capable of seeing what I must do to meet it. What I usually then discover is that I need to change something about the way I’m living. The lack I feel is not a missing object or experience, but the absence of the joy that arises from compassionate action.