The need to express ourselves may be the clearest need of the human spirit. Every being that can be called a person carries within the inexpressible worlds. We wish to communicate and share these worlds with others; we want others to see and understand them. Relationality is a characteristic of persons – the need for my ‘I’ to have a specific ‘You’ to address and communicate with. Only in contact with others, only by entering into a relationship with ‘You’, can ‘I’ fully understand, encompass, and express myself. We utilize this power and need at every moment of our lives. Even our actions taken in isolation are aimed at expressing ourselves. This need is so deeply ingrained in our being that it emerges from us even when no one is nearby because it is part of being human. This is dramatically illustrated by the ancient haiku:

A firefly passes by –

I almost said: ‘Look!’

– but I was alone.

(Taigi)

Perhaps the clearest example of the human need to express oneself is art. Other beings on Earth do not create art intentionally. Only humans can offer a flower to the sun, and this act can bring them joy. Art is something we did not have any objective physical need to create, yet we have a profound need to do so in order to express and share something from our inner world. This is a conglomerate of many needs of the human spirit: the need for freedom of expression, for admiration, for connection, for communicating truth, for leaving a mark, and for remembrance. Art expresses our need for beauty and harmony. Art is not just exhibitions, galleries, and performances. Every person is an artist when they attempt to express themselves, when they want to beautify their surroundings, and when they reach for the beautiful.

Let us imagine a world where we are focused solely on survival and what is physically necessary. Such a world may be functional, but it would be a sad world because humans are created for much more. Functionality is not the only measure of the importance of human actions; humans are made to express themselves, to fulfill both their physical and spiritual needs. To maintain physical health, basic physical needs must be met, but all reasonable people will agree that a fulfilling life requires much more than just physical health and safety. While physical needs take immediate precedence, psychological and spiritual needs have a greater overall importance. It is clear to all of us that a healthy person is far more than the sum of their healthy bodily functions. Moreover, we understand that the body will one day cease to exist, yet we deeply believe that our spirit and soul will continue to live. ‘Beauty will save the world,’ are the words of F. M. Dostoevsky. Saint Francis of Assisi reminds us that God is also beauty. What we invest in the spirit, in the entirety of our existence, is what ultimately enables us to realize ourselves as humans and positively impact the world.

There is a better part, which we may often overlook or fail to choose while focused solely on the functional. This is illustrated by the event in the Gospel where Jesus, in encounter with two sisters, Martha and Mary, places exclusive concern for meeting what we tend to call basic needs in second place, prioritizing what we often deem less important in our narrow and earthly perspective (cf. Lk 10:38-42). Jesus encourages us in several places to prioritize what nurtures and strengthens our spirit and our right relationship with God, promising us that health and safety of body and our entire being in eternity will not be lacking. Moreover, he showed us this through his own example in Jesus Christ. Jesus addressed the physical needs of people but always directed them toward greater faith and hope for the blessedness and beauty of the heavenly kingdom.