Sunday, June 26, 2005

Maslow

Now there is a name not tossed around these parts much. You know, he had this idea about what our needs are all about. He mentioned the basic stuff like food and water, to me that's pretty elementary. Then comes safety and security. THat makes sense too.

But the reason I started thinking about this was an email I got this morning. I'm a member of several on-line discussion groups. I began to think about that and what reasons I have and others have to join them. OK let's get real honest here, I think one of my fellow members got his groups mixed up. According to the caption he sent me and a bunch of "friends" a picture of his wife, shall we same very au natural.

Now I realize that I have a one track mind and all of that but you know size does matter. My track measures 4 feet eight and a half inches across. Of course in the basement I shrink that 160 times. Let me say his "wife" was attractive but that picture of her looking like a railroad crossbuck sign started me thinking.

These groups (regardless of subject matter) offer a sense of safety and community. Bang! Right there, Maslow said it. That is one of our needs. Take me for instance. I have a "need" to belong to a group that models railroads. I have a need to belong to a group that needs to touch Southern Railway history. It is an obession. Once I tried a couple of Buddhist discussion groups but really don't find much there. So maybe that isn't one of my (basic) needs.

I post pictures (occassionally to my groups) and not of my wife. I post pictures of my railroad stuff. (Oh, please tell me how beautiful my train is and how powerful my model building skills are.) I've even been known to get shall we say "pissed" when someone disagrees with me about somethihng and I'm positive I have more factual information to back my case. If you ever want to start and arguement with Southern Railway folks just say you have proof that the roof of the cabs of their steam passenger engines were painted red. Folks choose sides and start calling each other names. I have railroad documents that indicate exactly what the railroad policy and standard was. (It was not red.)

But let me get closer to what I was thinking about. No she didn't have red on her roof or even below the belt line. Damn if she'd been wearing read stockings I could have made light of the situation.

What prompted this woman to allow her picture to be taken? Does she even know her picture has hit the web? Why would her husband post the picture? Wait until the next time the "boys" come over to "play trains." Choo choo wooooo woooooo.

See? That gets me back to Maslow. He states that we have needs. So let's guess at her needs first.

She has a need for the basics, then safety and security, then comes love, self esteem,and self actualization.

So did her husband say pose for this picture or I throw you out on your ear? Did he say no food for you? I'll guess that maybe this wasn't it. Who knows maybe it was. I'd love to ask her but that's another whole world. Maybe she wants to feel that she is part of some family, his or one of sexy people. But then we start getting close to that line of love and self esteem. Maybe she did it for love. She wants his love. Maybe she wants the photographer's love. Maybe she's hoping that someone will see the picture and say they love her. Again we can only guess. As for self esteem I wonder how she would feel if she knows I saw her reared back showing just about all?

That self-esteem boogeyman is always there under the surface. Maybe she doesn't feel like a woman or the woman she wants to be. And that leads us right imto the final catch all. Self actualization. I know that as I get older I want to feel that I'm doing the right things to become who/what I want to be. AS for me and my self-esteem, well railroad boys know all about self-steam. Just give me a boiler maker.

We are pretty complicated folks. I think Maslow was onto something. Now I'll wonder for the rest of the day why I'd rather post a picture of a 4-6-2 rather than a 36-24-36? I'll wonder why I even wrote this.

In my case it's a toss up between self actualizing and my need for self-esteem. That's why you just better tell be how damn smart I am to think and write about this.

If that doesn't work, would a picture of my wife?

G

And I have to laugh.