Nine Things We Have To Do by John R. Haws
	There are nine things we have to do. These nine things are indisputable. We have to do them. We simply have no choice in the matter. Let me first name them and then I will elaborate on each one in more detail. The nine things we have to do are:
	breathe                 eat                 poop                 drink                 pee                 have shelter                 sleep                 wash our bodies                 have people around us
	Someone may argue that not all of these things are mandatory. Certainly, every person must breathe. No one can deny that. My two sons just love to rattle off “eat, poop, drink, pee”. There can be no doubt about these four, either. We have to do these bodily functions or else we cease to exist. Just ask anyone who has been constipated for any length of time.
	Can a person really live without shelter? I don’t think so. Shelter is generally our home. It is a safe place to retreat to sleep, if for no other reason. It is also a good place to prepare one’s meals and eat them without fear of interruption or disturbance, except maybe for the TV.
	Can a person do without sleep indefinitely? Absolutely not. You will go crazy if you try. Sleep lets our bodies rest and recuperate from the day’s activities and stresses. We need to sleep once in every twenty-four hour period. This is the way nature made us.
	Do we really need to wash our bodies? Of course, it is good common sense. Just ask my wife. She is obsessive compulsive when it comes to washing her hands. She must do this at least 100 times a day. That is a bit more than I would recommend, but still – the idea is there. Wash your body and keep it clean. Do this, too, on a regular basis.
	Do we really have to have people around us? This human necessity is a little more subjective. But the answer is still yes. We are social creatures. We need to communicate with other humans. We need social interaction. But, there is a problem here. We must be very careful concerning who we choose to associate with. We must choose our friends wisely. Otherwise, we may find ourselves in the wrong place at the wrong time and doomed to a life of corruption, sin, failing health and just plain misery.
	To me, all of these observations are obvious and self-evident. But, if there is one thing I have learned at all over these years, it’s this. Nothing is self-evident to everyone. Some people just don’t get it and they never will.
	February 2005 Return to Essays