to want and to need. what is the diference?

To want and to need. What is the difference?

Want: The desire for something one feels is lacking.
Need: The lack of the means of subsistence.

We all need to want, yet very few among us want to need. For to need something, is a sign of weakness. But to want something shows character. The desire gives stability. A reason to live. It makes life more palatable. Adds flavour.

A want comes mainly from envy. It is a desire for something which we do not truly need. Something perhaps we could live without. A car, a big house, riches and perhaps even friends.

Needs encompass whatever we can't live without. Food, drink and even the air we breath. All things material that would kill us if we're deprived of them.

Yet, if you think about it, besides the material, we also have psychological and spiritual needs that require tending to. Friendship, love, closeness to the divine. Because living without these needs satisfied would make for a miserable life. A life not worth living.

The link between wants and needs is very complex. Wanting to achieve a certain goal could change your needs to better fit your ascension towards that particular goal.

We're like spiders spinning our webs.

How the spider weaves its web changes according to the location of its choosing. A spider in a corner of the wall spins its web differently from one in the branches of a tree.

Our wants shape our needs the same way the location shapes the spider's web. Thus do our needs morph as time passes.

For example:
A person who wants to have love in her life would need a man. Trustworthy, loyal and a romantic.

A person who hungers for riches beyond compare would have less need for a loved one than a competent business partner. Someone who's more intelligent in the ways of business than love.

So what's the difference?

The difference lies in satisfaction. A need can be satisfied, but watns will keep on coming back. Because a need sprouts from the urge to fill up the emptiness in ourselves; while a want is usually the product of envy. A want creates emptiness.

So the next time you think you need something, or someone, take a step back and ponder on it a bit. Is it a need or a want?

Hmmm...