In the age of 8 years I had seen a TV commercial stating that a certain liquid soap for dishes would also help nourish the hands of the user. Since I wanted my mother to be beautiful, I gave her a bottle of this product for her birthday. This story has been commented for years at family and holiday gatherings.
We live today in some kind of welfare and quite often have to struggle with a question “What gift to choose for a person who apparently has everything?” Let’s explore if we are asking a question that could lead us to the right answer.
We should start by understanding the difference between wishes and needs. A lot of us would reject this stream of thoughts – well, I need what I want, that’s clear. If we dive under the surface, the perspective changes. What is that a person really needs? There was a psychologist, Maslow was his name, who has detected the Pyramid of Needs. In its foundation he placed physiological needs: air, water, food, clothing and shelter. Checking that hierarchy, we will not discover money. In that context money was regarded as a mere mean of exchange. One can also notice that the term HEALTH is missing. From the today’s understanding it might seem strange. But Maslow has published his findings 80 years ago, during the II World War, when survival was key.
Prior development of awareness for health and disease prevention that has culminated in recent years of global health events has catapulted health issues as an overall theme for all physical needs. I hope we care what we eat and drink, how much we sleep and do physical exercise. We have become increasingly aware of the environmental topics.
But what about wishes and wants. To what extent are they genuine and not implanted into our brains? Here is one simple example that many women can relate to: let’s assume a woman has already ten pairs of shoes, for that reason the need to protect our feet against cold, water and dirt is satisfied. Nevertheless, there is this new pair of shoes we have fallen in love with and we need to have them. Wish, disguised as need. Like love at first sight – goodbye to reason.
On the other hand, there are needs that have not risen to our perception yet. Would I had been aware that exposure of my hands and arms to the sun while gardening and other outdoor activities will result in ugly dark spots, refusing to let chemicals of sunscreens my skin, five years ago, I would have searched for a protection. There has been a need, but it was buried in my subconscious, therefore it did not exist for me. Oh, how I’ve regretted it later on! The alarm went on after the unwanted consequences appeared. I wish I had a friend at that time who could have warned me, or even better, would have surprised me with functional fashion accessories like blockspots or, how it is descripted – sun protection sleeves. However, back then I’ve been to China two years in a row, but in colder months. Four years later, by browsing the internet I’ve seen Asian women wearing sun sleeves. Still, I have to be honest to you and to myself, if I had a chance to see it while staying in China, I am not sure I would have adopted the idea to protect my skin in this way. People pretend not to be the one to be hit by a lightning, till it happens. I’m no exception.
Therefore, I now surprise my friends with aiTai blockspots. One has to start from somewhere. This is what I have been doing lately by spreading the concentric circles. By gifting aiTai sun protection sleeves – blockspots – I present consciousness. Looking at the Maslow’s hierarchy I have to realize this way I’m aiming it’s highest levels. What more can one ask for.
