ourselves against desire; seek and be satisfied with the
bare necessities. For many this would be small accomplish-
ment. And we would have to define our terms. What are
«bare necessities" today? The possessions which were con-
sidered luxuries not too long ago, now are considered neces-
sities by millions.
However, many of the great religions and phi-
losophies of the world have taught the shunning of all
worldly goods. The lives of great thinkers have emphasized
their complete freedom from this «tyranny of things". Bare-
foot Socrates, Christ with only the clothes He wore, Ghandi
with only his loin cloth and dollar watch, Thoreau in his
self-built cabin at Walden-and the examples could be al-
most endless.
Certainly, I am not one who can argue with
such great thinkers, their religions and philosophies. Their
influence has stood the test of history. I can only suggest
that there may be other interpretations.
When Thoreau writes, «Money is not required
to buy one necessity of the soul," I cannot debate that. I
can only suggest that this philosophy of doing without puts
unnecessary limits on living. I do not say that deprivation
is wrong; I merely say that it is a discipline which is desir-
able in its most extreme forms only to a very few who seek
supreme sacrifice as a means to spiritual-and in some cases,
mental-power. Or, for those who are unwilling to provide
the effort necessary to obtain more than bare essentials, so
that their activities can be used elsewhere.
But for the rest of us, what's wrong with rightly
having a share of the vast abundance which nature (or