Need is a funny word. So short. So used. So abused.

“I need a drink,” says one after a long day at work. “I need it!” wails a child, reaching with its whole body for the toy just out of reach on the store shelf.

I need coffee. I need to eat. I need you. I need ….

Every plaintive cry reveals our poverty—not real poverty, of course, just a perceived lack of something, or someone, without which our life feels less than we’d like.

And it is less. Not for lack of a toy or a drink or a partner, but for want of contentment, of satisfaction.

What I need is is contentment. Without it, I will always need more.

This entry is part of the 31-Day Writing Challenge 2021 from Five Minute Friday.