|
 Prisoners
used to know all about treadmills. They were big wheels, like old-fashioned
water wheels, powered by the weight of prisoners endlessly walking forward
and, of course, getting nowhere. The turning wheel held several prisoners,
all treading forward for hours on end. It was used to power other machines.
But
really it was a form of punishment.
Some say that kids like
you are really just being 'trained' to fit into the new-style treadmill
of work. Got to work hard in school
and get good grades so you can get a good job so you can buy everything
you want... and if you don't get a 'proper' job, you're a 'failure'.
 Of
course, you need to work to earn money to buy clothes, food and all the
other things you want. I guess the question is:
will you work to just get
what you need - or what you want?
'Needs' and 'wants' are
two very different things. Think about it and then take a peek below.
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| Me |
I
need... |
...
but I want |
food
 |
basic
food: bread, vegetables, fruit |
chips,
hamburgers, takeaway food, junk/fun food, cookies, chocolate,
candies |
drink
 |
water |
soda,
fruit juice, coffee, beer, wine, spirits, milk |
clothes
|
shirt,
pants, socks, shoes, coat |
fashionwear,
designer label shoes and sportswear, trendy stuff to make
sure I'm really cool - like all my friends. |
communication
 |
mouth
and tongue for talking, pen and paper for writing |
Mobile
phone (can't do without that these days), computer for email,
chat and to access Tiki the Penguin's website. Smart mobile
phone for Internet and email as well as texting and calling
friends. And I need to check the stock market too. Pager.
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transport
 |
feet
(bike, public transport) |
4
cars, 2 SUVs, jet-ski, motorcycle, airplane, submarine, fast
launch, ocean-going luxury yacht, space shuttle |
hygiene &
appearance
 |
water,
soap, toothbrush and paste |
perfumes,
toiletries, bubblebath, oceans of hot water for baths and
showers, makeup and cleansing creams, fancy hairstyle, hair
drier |
fun
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friends,
ideas, ingenuity |
everything
my friends have and more, including TV, video, CD player,
radio, cassette player, computer, computer games, video camera,
own workout gym, robot to do everything for me, swimming pool,
Jacuzzi, windsurfing gear, powered glider, fast car, truck
to carry everything everywhere, 3 houses in the country, holidays
in Costa Rica and Italy, ocean cruise to South Georgia to
meet me... etc. |
home
|
modest
house with water supply for bathroom and kitchen. Small garden
to grow food. |
grand
mansion in select area with heating/air conditioning in every
one of its many rooms. House to be near take-aways and fast
food outlets 'cos I don't want to bother with cooking. Too
busy... |
can
you think of anything else?
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no |
yes,
thousands of things. And I want them all. I mean I really
do need all these things. Like really. Can't live without
them. I must have them ... gimme more, more, more... blah
blah blah. |
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Of course I'm not suggesting
that you should never have anything you want and that you only have one
pair of shoes and eat potatoes and vegetables and nothing else! That's
the sort of thing a few very religious people do by choice and very poor
people do because they don't have the choice.
 My
message is that your real needs are few and
don't cost much at all.
Your wants
are probably many and they,
in
the end,
could...
...cost
the Earth.
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The
Tale of the Fisherman and the Tourist
 A
tourist looks on a most idyllic picture: a fisherman dozing
in the sun in his rowing boat that he has pulled out of the
waves which come rolling up the sandy beach. The tourist's
camera clicks and the fisherman wakes. The tourist asks: “The
weather is great and there's plenty of fish, so why are you
lying around instead of going out and catching more?”
The fisherman replies: “Because I caught enough this
morning.”
“But just imagine,” the tourist says, “you
could go out there three or four times a day and bring home
three or four times as much fish! And then you know what could
happen?” The fisherman shakes his head. “After a
year you could buy yourself a motorboat,” says the tourist.
“After two years you could buy a second one, and after
three years you could have a cutter or two. And just think!
One day you might be able to build a freezing plant or a smoke
house. You might eventually even get your own helicopter for
tracing shoals of fish and guiding your fleet of cutters,
or you could buy your own trucks to ship your fish to the
capital, and then . . .”
“And then?” asks the fisherman.
“And then”, the tourist continues triumphantly,
“you'd could spend time sitting at the beachside, dozing
in the sun and looking at the beautiful ocean!” The fisherman
looks at the tourist: “But that is exactly what I was
doing before you came along!”
(slightly
abridged from an original
story by Heinrich Böll)
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