Wants And Needs

I know that I am on the spiritual path when I can be more focused on my needs than my wants.  My wants are more often about me while my needs are more about others, or more about my outsides and less about my insides.  Why so?  Well, what I want is usually more about my comfort and convenience than it is about anyone else.  Example:  I want a parking place near to the entrance to where I am going.  Do I consider an elderly, or injured person who might be wanting that same parking place?  No.  I have no wants for any other person but myself.  I want a treat.  I want to go to a movie.  These are all about me.  A need almost always connects me to a world larger than myself.  I need love, but this includes another person and I must be selfless enough to love in return or else it is not love.  I need money to pay bills, survive or else I cannot be of use to others in my present circumstances.  But I don’t need money to go on holiday.  That is a want.  I might say I need to ski or go away from work, or have some fun, but this often it is escape from doing the interior work that needs to be done on myself.  That is why I need to go to my monastery, but have little desire to travel and see new places.  As we age, wants and needs shift but a want usually does not satisfy.  It cannot deliver what the need is.