JANE CHIN, PH.D. ∞

Kwai Yu once told me about turning Maslow’s hierarchy on its head:
turning it up side down, so that “triangle” is now spinning on its head.
That “self-actualization” would lead to attainment of other hierarchical needs.

I liked this idea.

But then I wondered:

What if the shape is wrong?

What if Maslow’s hierarchy should not be a triangle at all?
What if what we thought was a pyramid is actually a circle, and
What if our fulfillment from life is a function of the completeness of our “life circle”?

Maslow’s hierarchy looks at food, shelter, love, and self-actualization….

But can we really say that one is preceding the other in “need”?

Look at ascetics who go for days or weeks without food.
They don’t need that “need” as many of us need that “need”.

Look at studies with baby monkeys that have shown
how their need for love precedes their need for food.

And if you have food but you’re in constant physical danger
(unsafe shelter) then you aren’t going to eat.

And if you lack love and find yourself in constant despair or self-hatred
you will literally starve yourself or self-destruct in creative ways.

So at any given point in our life, I see not a triangle,
but the completeness of a circle made up of
arcs of our individual life “needs”.

Maybe it’s not about a hierarchical list of needs in life.

Maybe it’s about whether the circle of
our human experience is
complete and
full for
each
one
of
us.