Fulfilment

“Human motivation is based on people seeking fulfillment and change through personal growth,” Abraham Maslow, hence the hierarchy of needs.

Self-Actualization----------------------------------------/\

Esteem ------------------------------------------------/   \

Belonging----------------------------------------------/     \

Safety------------------------------------------------/       \

Physiology--------------------------------------------/­­­­         \

This is not an attempt at explaining the theory but rather a personal take on what it means. Maslow took Albert Einstein as his “subject” during his research as a fulfilled (Self-Actualized) individual. I wonder if one can ever get to declare they fulfilled, even with all the riches in the world, one will always look for more.

The Qoheleth, in the book of Ecclesiastes, says that all man’s work is in vain in that in the end it produces no permanent worth or benefits. Additionally, he goes on to say that no amount of pleasure, wealth and all the glory that man can have; can fulfill a person.

We have these moments in our lives, that we feel liberated from everything in the world; the lies, the worries and the constant fear we come to live with because there is no ultimatum. It is within these moments that we “can” say we are fulfilled, that in these moments we do not envy the success of others, that we get to give a helping hand to the needy so as to find their way up. He (Maslow) defined actualization in this view, that when we find ourselves in moments we feel no desire for self-preservation, the hunger to enrich ourselves more on the expense of others; we are in actual fact actualized.

“There is no end to work,” a paraphrased statement the Qoheleth used when explaining the insignificance of the lot work we sweat doing. There has never been a time in my little life, were I hear being declared that work is finished entirely and that there will not be a need for more. Look at the rich, the famous, and the wealthy; they all still look for more.

There are times when I look at the world and the things it offers and how much we have to work to get them; I just feel down. All that I have said in the above paragraphs is true for me and perhaps a whole lot other out there. Hence, within these moments of life, the little seconds we have between life and death; I begin to acknowledge the fact that there is greater power looking over us.