Reflections

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  1. Maeve

    Basic needs of food, clean water and a roof over my head, yes.
    Growing up with a sense of love, nurturing and belonging, not so much.

    20 hours ago
  2. C
    Carissa Thomas

    I am so grateful to have had a warm or air conditioned place to live as needed, people that love me, my health has been good, I am not predisposed to any genetic diseases, I can walk and talk without aid, I have never had to go hungry. I can take a shower with hot water. I’m so grateful to have always had these things.

    22 hours ago
  3. Robin Ann

    Roof over my head, Heat, clean water and feeling safe. There have been a couple times in my life after I divorced
    that I was worried about money. Once is when I lost my job during a recession for almost an entire year and I was a single Mom. Luckily I had
    a friend/Co-worker that taught me about different resources available. To this day I pay it forward to anyone else that may need a helping hand.
    I did have family also that would help but wanted to try to figure it out on my own too!

    22 hours ago
  4. Don Jones

    The sweet fragrance of silence and stillness.

    1 day ago
  5. O.Christina

    No lack, although there was a lot missing (added later). There has always been a roof over my head, warmth when it was cold outside, fresh food which is easily accessable, and there was always access to fresh and clean water. It was very touching when some m0nths ago, a friend told about a project to support a small village in Africa, which had been cut off from accessible water supply so a small NGO collected money to finance digging a well there, which by now is already working and several hundred village people and their animals now can have access to fresh water. It made so clear that no water simply means no life possible. Water is holy, as is fresh food, clean air and a warm home to come back to, which should be available for each one and each animal and even so the needs of plants. I feel deeply grateful for these gifts and even more so, to be able to share it with my fellow friends and loved ones, which is a gift of sorts. Thank you for this question.

    1 day ago
  6. Dolores Kazanjian

    Like all of the commenters who are from the U.S., I never lacked for physical needs – housing, food, clothes, etc. although I was a Depression baby and sometimes things were hand-to-mouth. As I have quoted here before, one of my friends likes to say “we won the lottery.”
    Nurturing is another story altogether. But I did learn early on that I had to take care of myself.

    1 day ago
  7. Linda

    I am grateful that I never lacked the basic needs of food, shelter and love. I consider my life a gift in that way, and one I do not take for granted.

    1 day ago
  8. Charlie T

    Well, I wouldn’t say I don’t worry,
    because I do. But, my basic needs have
    always somehow been met and I’m so
    grateful. I’ve always had enough to eat,
    clean water to drink, and I’ve alway felt
    pretty safe. I don’t take these things for
    granted.

    1 day ago
  9. Carol

    I haven’t ever gone without my basic physical needs being met but can’t say that is true of my emotional needs. And, as for worry, I’ve spent way to much time in my life worrying mostly about things I’ve come to see don’t matter at all!

    1 day ago
  10. Pilgrim

    Food. Heat and electricity. Medical care, as needed. Family/Companionship/Friendship. Wonderful teachers, from kindergarten to Seminary. Such gifts, and I am utterly grateful!

    1 day ago
  11. Carla

    Shelter over my head with seasonal comforts. Food. Water. Clothing,. Accessible medical care. Others near by, as I don’t live in isolation. And a connection to the Divine within me. My needs have always been provided, and I’ve worked for them too over the years since childhood.

    1 day ago
  12. sunnypatti

    Clean water, electricity, a safe roof over my head, food, and love.

    1 day ago
  13. Yram

    My basic needs are all taken care of and I have no major worries. I live in the realm of simplicity but at times a few of my wants get filled. It is all very amazing!
    This is a good question to ponder.

    1 day ago
    1. L
      Loc Tran

      Yram, I’m very happy for you. I feel the same way having both my career and love life established.

      1 day ago
  14. Ngoc Nguyen

    As I grew up in a more developed time than my mom and dad, I’ve never had to worry about food. That’s something I’m grateful for. My parents grew up during the time just after the Vietnam War. My mother’s family, and everywhere in the South of the country, didn’t have enough food to eat. The older ones would save food for the younger ones. So, I’m grateful for never experiencing hunger for days on end like my previous generations.

    1 day ago
    1. L
      Loc Tran

      My Ngoc, I’ve heard many stories from my parents about people from that generation too where their dads were in the military and moms looked after their 8 or so children.

      1 day ago
  15. Nannette

    I have had the good fortune of being born in the United States. I have always had food, shelter, clean water and electricity. As a child my parents struggled but I was never hungry. In my 40’s I went to Somalia for 10 months on a humanitarian mission. I learned there that I was a privileged woman…I was very Blessed to be a woman born in the U.S. and not Somalia where woman were treated worse than the donkeys- and they had a horrible life. In Somalia; I did not have clean water to bathe in- nor was water available to the people. We did not have good food nor did we have electricity on a regular basis (we had a generator that was on for a few hours each day). I was a nurse in a hospital without running water- and I worked in the Operating Room…no water or electricity…life was and is not easy for the Somali people. I have all I need every single day of my life…indeed I am Blessed.

    1 day ago
    1. Ngoc Nguyen

      Thank you so much forsharing your experience to us.

      1 day ago
      1. L
        Loc Tran

        My Ngoc, These young kids who whine on tiktok over paying taxes in the US and wanting to move to Europe can learn something here from the people on this website. Problems exist everywhere we go.

        1 day ago
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