Over the years, I have focused on the issue of safety as our young people head back to school. We give a great deal of attention to keeping our community and particularly our young people “Safe”. We do our best to surround them with protections and safeguards from the moment they awake until they go to bed at night. This emphasis on feeling physically safe is important as it represents the basic and essential need that we all have as human beings, second only to our physiological needs such as air, water, food and shelter.
If we truly want to see our community thrive, we need to expand our scope of attention to address the higher needs that every human being requires to ascend beyond a place where we merely survive, and to a place where we thrive. Some may be thinking this sounds familiar, as what I am sharing is based in “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.” In this model, a person cannot achieve the next higher level of needs until they feel the previous needs have been met. This is why the first two are critical in any society.
While these first two levels of needs are given a great deal of attention and the source of much charity and outreach, it is many times the next three levels that are the greater challenge. This is not because we don’t care, but rather because these higher levels of needs are not readily visible when not met.
The next level of needs is that of Loving and Belonging. This level includes friendship, intimacy, family, and connection. Those of us who have been fortunate to have these things in our lives may take them for granted, but think for a moment what it must be like as a young person not to have experienced these. Without those deep, meaningful relationships, it is next to impossible to achieve the next level, which is “esteem”. The level of esteem includes respect, self-esteem, status, recognition, strength and freedom.
This level of “Esteem’ is where each of us can have an impact. We can each demonstrate respect for another, whether we agree with them or not. We can encourage each other through simple acts of recognition and appreciation. We can help build up another person’s sense of status by sharing with them the value they have and the unique qualities that make them special.
In doing these things, we set the stage for the arrival at the highest level of needs: Self-Actualization. This is simply the individual’s desire to become the most that one can be. Can you imagine a community where every person approaches their day with this attitude? Our goal should be that every student arriving for the new school year is functioning at this highest level, with the sole purpose of learning and individual growth at the forefront of their attention.
This is not easy work. It requires dedication both internally and externally. It requires patient love and stern discipline. It requires accountability at all levels, to each other and to ourselves. The best part is that it doesn’t cost a thing. It doesn’t require some large government initiative. All it requires is for us to look beyond ourselves to help another person on their journey.
