JUST ONE OF THOSE DAYS!

The alarm went off,
I slept through it though,
I wake up with a start,
I'm late..go go go!

        My schedule is ruined,
        And a number of things,
        I rush through my bath,
        And the door bell rings.

               The routine then starts,
               The milkman & the newspaper,
               The garbage collecter,
               And finally the sweeper.

Phew! its a mess, its all out of place,
Trying my patience, its just one of those days.

I answer the door,
The milk boils over,
To get through this day,
I need a four leaf clover.

        The kitchen's a mess,
        Cause I drop an egg,
        I clean it and turn,
        And I twist my leg.

               I turn on the motor,
               And then the heater,
               Power cut's at eight,
              Things just get sweeter.

Phew! its a mess, its all out of place,
Trying my patience, its just one of those days.

Cooking then starts,
Breakfast is done,
Then on to lunch,
Thankgod, damage is none.

        My little one calls,
        I drop everything,
        Try to put her back to sleep,
        And my cell phone rings!!

               "AC service ma'am,
              Can we come today?"
               Its a week since is called,
              Cant send them away.

Phew! its a mess, its all out of place,
Trying my patience, its just one of those days.

Bath and breakfast,
For my little one,
The best time of the day!!
second to none.

       I leave her to play,
       I order some fish,
       Hope my maid's on time,
       Yeah...I wish.

               I answer a few calls,
              Sign for a courier,
              And get back to cooking,
              The more the merrier.

Phew! its a mess, its all out of place,
Trying my patience, its just one of those days.

Facebook is calling,
And so is Whats app,
Friends and family,
you cant ignore that!!

        Chicken in the oven,
        On the stove is rice and curry,
        The cylinder gets empty,
        And I am in a hurry..

                I change the cylinder,
                Order a new one,
                Maid is finally here,
                Blames the scorching sun.

Phew! its a mess, its all out of place,
Trying my patience, its just one of those days.

Lunch is done,
My little one is sleeping,
I put up legs to rest,
Maid starts housekeeping.

        AC service, Fish delivery,
        Then paying bills online,
        And door to door salesmen,
        That's just the outline.

               I hobble about, banging an elbow,
               Stubbing a toe,
               Cursing under my breath,
               I go with the flow.

Phew! its a mess, its all out of place,
Trying my patience, its just one of those days.

My little one's up,
We read and play,
A little breather,
Towards the end of the day!

        Then on to dinner,
        And clearing up toys,
        Sleep time for my little one,
        We make lots of noise.

               All doors locked,
               All tucked in bed,
               I set the alarm,
               In the clock and in my head.

Tired and weary,
My husband asks, "how was your day?",
"Nothing out of the ordinary",
"Usual", I say.

I chuckle to myself,
What do I say?,
Better get some sleep,
Tomorrow is another day :)




 

P2AP3 - What they say 1.1.2 - Need to know a bit more

Human needs according to Maslow are five : physiological, safety and security, love and belongingness, self esteem and self actualisation.  On the satisfaction of one need the next arises, in the above order. Or so it was....

 

Hmm...where were we?..ah yes...the current scenario.  

 

1.Most kids or rather most of the current generation have their basic needs/physiological needs satisfied by their parents. There  are always the haves and have not's. But these days its not only  about food, clothing or shelter. Its about better or the best food, clothing and shelter. Comparison with peers, esteem needs?

 

2.Education has become more than a necessity. Even though it is still not affordable for some humans, many go for educational loans to  study in premium institutions and even go abroad for the same. While a few lucky ones have their parents pay for it. It is a matter of pride where one's children are studying, be it just a school or higher education. Esteem needs again?

 

3. Children attend an array of classes; dance(both classical and otherwise), singing, instrumental, karate, sports, etc and to top it all tutions for school lessons. The need to excel and stand out among others?

 

4. Health has also become a priority. Air and water are polluted. Humans buy water and water purifiers for safety. Eventhough the popularity and demand for fast food, areated drinks, home delivery of food, instant mixes(even biryani is instant) is growing, so is the demand for sugar free, fat free, diet snacks and diet foods.  Yoga classes and the gym are quite in demand these days.

 

5.For the purpose employment and a brighter future, humans shifed to many parts of different countries across the world. Away from their immediate families and friends, to new friends and new culture.  But they still hold on to their roots, their children still learn classical dance and music, they still celebrate festivals traditional style.

 

6. While some humans have started showing interest in meditation, yoga, life courses, dance, music, photography, art(in numerous forms) etc.. others have taken up causes and do their bit to help the society. Working to save the planet, groups against animal cruelty, women help organisations and many more. Ecotourism is gaining popularity. self actualisation?

 

7. Humans left joint families so that they can be independant. And then they search and invest in properties called "Gated communities", where all facilites like banking services, school, grocery store, gym, parks etc are available. A kind of self sufficient functional community. Isnt this what the humans moved out of...in the first place? have they come one full circle? are they going back to where they started?

 

8. Social networking has gained popularity. With facebook, twitter, Whats app, viber and other applications that can be accessed on the phone...keeping in touch with friends and family all over the world has become easy. Humans are trying harder that ever to keep together, while physical distances seperate them.

 

There is so much more that can be said...but I have to stop somewhere. Where are the humans headed? what are they looking for?

 

On one side there are still people who are struggling for their basic needs. On the other hand there are others who have so many choices that their needs are not needs anymore...they are "wants".  So when one need is satisfied(as maslow said), the next may arise, but the one that is satisfied becomes a want.

 

Evidently the need to prove oneself, to identify one's place in their own world, to feel wanted, to identify ones capabilities, to give back or contribute; is growing. The humans are, i guess, on a path of self-discovery.  To be "Accepted, Acknowledged and Appreciated", be it by others or oneself, is right now on top of the list. 

 

And where its needed the most are in relationships, any kind, but that's another topic altogether.

 

P2AP3* - What they say 1.1(Abraham Maslow**)

 NEED TO KNOW

 

The word psychology literally means, "study of the soul"

 

If we look into the history of psychology it begins with structuralism, functionalism and graduates to the more familiar psychoanalysis, behaviorism, humanism and then gestalt, extensivism and Cognitivism. Hmmm...dont think i am getting anywhere with that.

 

We have to start somewhere...well, most things start with what the humans call "need". To most psychologists, need is a psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a goal, giving purpose and direction to behavior.

 

According to Abraham Maslow, needs are classified as physiologial, safety and social, love and belongingness, self-esteem and finally self actualisation. He says that on the satisfaction of one need(starting from the base of the pyramid), the next need arises and so on.

 

Long long ago, humans lived in communities where satisfation of needs were taken care of by the community as a whole; food, shelter, safety et al...were for everyone, and everyone worked in unison for the same.

 

As times changed and populations grew, it became far more difficult to manage such a feat. Large families called joint families emerged, they stayed together, had their own businesses, which were mostly ancestoral that the generations passed on. As people grew older they passed on the responsibilities of taking care of the family to the younger generations and went on to satisfy their esteem and self actualisation needs...which probably included service to man and to god.

 

Joint families later on disintegrated into what the humans now call nuclear families.  Parents who have strived hard even for the basic needs, do not want their children to go through the same. They work hard most of the time to provide for their children, what they have had to work for. In the process, the physiological needs and general safety needs are satisfied.

 

Festivals, vacations, weekend family outings, occassions, meeting friends were the only kind of social interactions that humans depended upon for their love and belongingness needs. Success in their individual careers, success of their children at school and improvement in social status formed a part of their esteem needs.

 

Now key question is...Does this hierarchy of needs even apply to the humans today? This needs to be looked into a bit in detail.

 

-End of page 1-

*In Pursuit of perspicuity about plebians of a particular planet
**Abraham Harold Maslow (April 1, 1908 – June 8, 1970) was an American psychologist who was best known for creating Maslow's hierarchy of needs, a theory of psychological health predicated on fulfilling innate human needs in priority, culminating in self-actualization