All of creation, including humankind, is dualistic, with one part being body and the other mind. Both parts have natural needs. That is, if our bodies are not hydrated and nourished, then we will die. On the other hand, if our minds lack positive ideas/Ideals like love, truth, and right (the Holy Trinity) we become separated from God. Why? Because God is Love. God is Truth. And, God is Right. Without these qualities in our lives, that is without God, we lose meaning and substance. We are spiritually dead. God is LIFE after all.
I am seventy-four in part because my physical needs have always been met. Which begs the question - why do people, if they have all that they need, still want more? I think what grandma said explains it best – ‘the difference between need and greed, Mehdi, is want’. Sadly, greed, one of the seven deadly sins, is what drives most people today. If it is not reigned in soon, civilization will end.
If we return to common-sense wisdom and change our value system, there may still be time to save ourselves. Grandma, again, had it right - principles and morals come first. She lived by credos such as, “right’s right, and wrong is nobody”. She never went along to get along. Furthermore, no matter how little she had, she would share. I remember one winter a woman down the street was going somewhere without a coat. She said, “I have two coats in the closet, take one and give it to her.” She didn’t use the word love much. But her life was filled with sacrifice, acts of charity, kind words, goodwill, and compassion (passion for the community). Her way of life exemplified true faith and worship. I saw as a child an old woman, worn out from life and another long day, bend her knees and put her head to the planks to pray. Always and only to God. She would tell us, ‘be careful, God’s watching’! There was no greed or selfishness in her. She only took from the world what she needed. American Indians of old lived that way, too.