Hey there,

Welcome to one of the prettiest times of the year here (in Virginia). Fall is a treat to us; although we love New Orleans and all it has to offer, seasons are different here. Each fall since our move in 2001 we delight in the colors and the feel of the air. I feel energized in the fall and it is time to get back to blogging!

Thank you all for the comments, I enjoy reading each one. Let’s keep the conversation rolling about our 5 basic needs and how we each meet them. We are all different yet we have the needs in common; however the ways we chose to meet them will differ with space, time, financial resources, desires, situations and circumstances.

A quick review of the needs will help us begin again here:

1. Staying Alive:  the basics like food, shelter, water, and clothing; also the emotional and spiritual needs we all share are included in staying alive.
2. Love and Belonging:  we all know we need to be loved and feel we belong and yet we do not always put forth the effort to meet this needs. We don’t’ want to take this for granted; have fun learning to meet this need.
3. Freedom and Boundaries:  we can look at many areas of our life with this one, eating, finances, time, and resources: how do we enjoy the freedoms we have and what boundaries do we set for our self and where do we need to improve. Also, the variety of freedoms we have as Americans and our responsibilities to keep these (even the responsibility to vote).
4. Power: what we think power us or di-empowers us. What we think can make or break us in many ways. We need to learn to identify what we think so we can use our thoughts to empower our lives. Our choices demonstrate the power we have every day.
5. Fun: taking time for fun, even just doing nothing for fun is good. Making time for fun, seeking ways to have fun, being creative and willing to try new things along with creating friendships will help you meet this need.

Fall is a beautiful time to try a new way to meet the needs or to just let yourself keep on meeting the needs in the ways you are currently doing if you are living in ways that make you feel you are living a balanced, fulfilling life. Either way, the choice is yours…enjoy life. Thanks for reading and writing your thoughts and opinions!