How To Want Less

What do we really need? And once our needs are met, what is it that we desire? In this meditation on "Bal Tashchit," the Jewish teaching against needless destruction, rooted in Deuteronomy 20:19, we’ll slow down and notice the difference between need and want. From there, we’ll consider a third possibility: taking less. Less food, less stuff, less energy, less attention, less of the world’s finite resources. Not as punishment or deprivation, but as a practice of discernment: enough is enough. We’ll make space to ask what truly sustains us, what simply satisfies an impulse, and where choosing less might become an act of care for ourselves, our communities, and the living world.

Transcript

Just gathering in. With no agenda. Meditation is a kind of free time. There's no work to it. There's no to-do list. You can't do it perfectly. There's no real ideal. You're just taking some free time to yourself. A recess, We used to call that when we were kids. Putting aside jobs, To-do lists. Regrets. Anxieties. Fears, Even excitements. This is just time to sit still. Than to enjoy the moment you have. Because no moment can last, So you hold on to each moment. Then you breathe in, And you breathe out, And maybe you start extending your breath, Deeper in, Slower out. Noticing how it feels, Your spine, Your ribs, Your lungs tense, Open. Stiff Relaxed, Little of everything. You're not evaluating, You're just narrating. Oh. My lungs are shallow. My breathing is difficult. My mood is excited, Exuberant. There's nothing to it. It's just speaking in the present obvious tense. When we slow down. Slowing down both by deepening the breath and extending the exhale, But also just letting our thoughts drift. Not regimented. Just open. And knowing that thoughts don't stop. Meditation is not a clearing of the mind. Even if you were to fall asleep, You would dream. Your neurons would function. It's just a relaxing into the experience and when ideas and trains of thought carry you far down tracks, You just. . . Gently remind yourself to return. Return to the station. I'm back in. You can trace my voice back into this moment. You could use your breath. You might notice your body. Scan your body is a good cue. Breath is a fine cue. My voice if you need it, Just come back. Meditation is a Sabbath. Active letting go of action. Ironic. Paradoxical. But pleasurable. Just breathing. Slowing down, Becoming more quiet. Taking notice and not demanding anything of this moment. Letting it be what it is. Fun, Sad, Confusing, Disorienting. Easy, Most of all. Just breathing. Quiet and still. Thoughts come and go like clouds. Like dogs running by. We'll meditate on how much we really need and how much we take. And how sometimes those things are. Misaligned, Even dramatically misaligned. Notice your bodily needs. Maybe you're hungry or thirsty. Sleepy? Warm or cold? So you need food and drink. You need a place to rest. You need shelter from the weather. Maybe a good book. What does your body need to survive? Love. Someone to care about. Place to learn. What do you really need? See if you can let those ideas come up for you, Just gently. Not grasping, Oh, I need cereal right now. I need tea. What are the body's true needs? Beyond your breath. What do you really need? How do you come up? Drawing into that. Food and shelter. Water, Companionship. What else do you need? Use that word sparingly. Breathe into that knowledge, That sensitivity. At growing awareness. There's the trick. There are things you want, Things you grasp at, Things you seek. Has a different feeling. Need is a hunger, Seeking is a grasping. What have you been grasping for? Lusting after taking. Identify that feeling, Maybe. Naming what those things might be, Maybe just sensing it. Bigger car. Fancy vacation. An expensive meal. Where do you grasp and strive beyond what you need? Take stock as you breathe. How does that grasping make you feel? Physically and emotionally, Where do you notice it? Where's that pole? That attraction. Towards more. Your chest, Your arms, Your toes. Or does it reside, If it could reside? Desire. That's what we're going to notice, Desire. Not need, But desire. Breathe for that. Touch and sense it. Inhale deeply, Exhale slowly. You get distracted, You come back. If this experience becomes tense. Just breathe, Let it go. You don't have to do this exercise. Meditation is just recess for you. It's time. And last, What can you need, Want, Desire, Take less of? Where can you become more reserved? And served. Grasp a little less, Take a little less. Is there a spot for that? Not the second helping of pie. Not a new car every other year. Where is a place where you could take less? You may not be able to identify it, But just open yourself to that possibility. Breathe in deeply, Exhale slowly. Noticing what you need, What you want, What you could take less of. As we move to our conclusion. You need, What do you desire? What can you let go of? Need, Desire, And letting go. Few more deep breaths in, Slow breaths out. Blessings.