Will the 'secure' Slim Shady please stand up?

Every time Jaden and me are supposed to share something Alphy's made, that we can eat, Jaden demands that he have the lion's share. Of course, I am okay with it except at his age he can't finish what's on his plate, and so I end up eating the cold creepy leftovers. I can remember as a kid too, me doing exactly the same. But then again, I am not sure of such a desire for a 'lion's share' being only a kid-act. Grown ups do it too. They demand they be given the larger slice. Only its not just food.

Now the reason's simple. Blame it on the phenomenon of 'insecurity' that plagues the larger lot of us. To not want more means you're secure. To want more, and more is a pointer to a belief that you don't have enough. Abraham Maslow did well to tell us we move from one need state to another. But what he may not have mentioned is the fact that the movement across the hierarchy may just be reflection of wanting more, propelled by a sense of insecurity. In effect a movement across the levels is a movement to want more. Take for example, physiological needs. Shelter's a basic need. But what about a bigger house, a second house? The bigger one, in a better neighbourhood could be movement from just needing shelter to seeking esteem. The second house could be about greater security. Thus in wanting 'more', what we do is demonstrate our insecurity of not having enough. Of esteem and of security.

A study of human needs tells us a need is never fully satisfied. When we fulfill one, its replaced by another higher order one. Well, what can I say, marketers can thank their stars for that. Because it means the consumption wheel keeps rolling. People buy to fulfill needs. People buy to tide over their insecurities. Their wanting more so they can be secure is a good thing. Because that's what ensures producers find buyers. Imagine a 'secure' populace. It would sound a death knell to consumption. But be assured, that will never happen.

For we, will forever be insecure.

Amen.