Have you heard of Maslow’s Hierarchy? There’s a great article about it on Wikipedia (honk if you love Wikipedia!). Here’s the link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow%27s_hierarchy_of_needs
Well, I want to tell you about the Maslow’s Moon Bounce. Have you seen a big inflated bouncy Moon Bounce? They’re so fun for kids and the young at heart. Climb in and bounce around. Bounce on the corners. Bounce at the feet of your friend to tumble them down. Bounce, bounce, bounce until you are tired and need to get off the ride. And then stumble around while you regain your balance on solid ground.
Maslow’s Moon Bounce is not fun though, it’s a hard life, and you see it around you every day. I meet people every day who are bouncing through life on Maslow’s Moon Bounce, and I don’t mean to be critical, I am a scientist studying the problems of people on the bottom, hoping to find lasting solutions. Maslow’s hierarchy begins at the base with survival. Plenty of people struggle to survive, all over the world. Life for these folks, all day every day, is spent mostly at the base of Maslow’s Hierarchy. Here’s a picture I borrowed from that article on Wikipedia, first published in 1943, A Theory of Human Motivation, A. H. Maslow:
Survival is those first two: primitive physiological and safety levels. These levels are about basic survival functions in our lives: eating, gathering food, securing shelter, having clothing, having companions, and meeting our basic needs. We all have these moments, but some have only them. How often during the day are you in these levels, a primitive animal human surviving? Me, I am barely managing until I have coffee.
I bounce into the third level, Love/Belonging as soon as I pick up my little smartphone in the morning. I’ve become part of the world now, you see. I have friends on Facebook and Twitter and they tell me about a few things going on, and show me some beautiful pictures. I see news from the world as well as my own little town, and I feel belonging. I see messages and likes, and I feel a little love. How about you?
You know, it was different 20 years ago. Those mornings were so different. Instead, I would have my family to take care of: kids to wake, breakfast to make, kisses goodbye for the day. But it was still bouncing into that third level, Belonging and Love. Then off to work I’d go, and belong somewhere else for several hours, with another group of people, and many of them I loved in a way, you know.
You get some pats on the back at work and at home when you do some good things too, so of course that motivated me, just as Dr. Maslow said it would. I would like to hear that the breakfast was tasty and appreciated. I would like to hear that the job I had done, or a decision I had made, was a good one, and was also appreciated. So I was bouncing through level 4, Esteem, throughout my work day, for decades. And this goes back to school days too: trying to get those A’s on my assignments. Trying to win the swim race, or tackle the quarterback.
How about you, what do you do during the day for level 4, Esteem? Do you apply makeup if you’re a woman? Do you take care of your clothes if you are a man? What about your car, is it something you love and are proud of? There’s lots of ways to experience level 4 throughout your day, please think about what you do, and what your loved ones do too.
But getting to level 4 is really hard for a lot of people. You see it every day, people putting themselves down, and its not just self-deprecation. People don’t have the confidence to achieve level 4 sometimes. They haven’t been patted on the back very much, you see, and they aren’t used to it. They might even suspect you of some misaligned intention that threatens their lower levels of safety and security. People turn down generosity every day because they are confused between self-esteem, and meeting those lower level needs. Maslow’s Moon Bounce is uncomfortable for these folks. How many do you know, are any your friends? I’m sure you know people at work or in school who seem to have problems with self-esteem and self-respect.
The Moon Bounce is even worse for these folks when the top level is reached sometimes, and you can’t avoid it. You have to go there, it’s part of being human. Self-actualization, what is that really? “The self only finds its actualization in giving itself to some higher goal outside oneself, in altruism and spirituality.” .[9] We all do this to some degree, we simply must. Churches are filled with people seeking this level. We drop dimes in the Salvation Army bucket, and a quarter in a cup set out by a homeless person. We help a friend in need, even the very poorest, homeless people do this for their friends: they are still in Maslow’s Moon Bounce, going to the top.
Now Maslow later said there is another level up above, “self-transcendence”. He believed this was the ultimate: a sense of joining the wholeness of the universe. That could be an important part of the Moon Bounce too, but I don’t think we spend too much time in our day up there, what do you think?
I sincerely hope you are spending most of your time up there in self-actualization and esteem and self-respect, so that you can extend your thoughts and respect for others in your day. But remember, there are many in the Moon Bounce, who spend a lot of time at the base, just trying to get by.
We are all human, and we all belong in the higher levels, don’t you agree? So, when you see someone bouncing through life, in Maslow’s Moon Bounce, don’t judge too harshly: we have all been there at some points in our lives, and sometimes more than just once or twice. Maslow’s Moon Bounce makes you humble, and appreciate what you do have in the higher levels in your life. Enjoy the ride.
Bill Custer's thought sphere 