I realized that you can get so used to certain luxuries that you start to think they're necessities, but when you have to forgo them, you come to see that you don't need them after all. There was a big difference between needing things and wanting things-though a lot of people had trouble telling the two apart-and at the ranch, I could see, we'd have pretty much everything we'd need but precious little else.
In her book "Half Broke Horses," Jeannette Walls shares a poignant realization about the nature of luxuries versus necessities. She reflects on how individuals can become so accustomed to certain comforts that they mistake them for essential needs. This awareness often emerges when one must live without those luxuries, revealing that what once seemed vital is, in fact, non-essential.
Walls contrasts the true needs of life with mere desires, acknowledging the confusion many people experience in distinguishing between the two. At the ranch, she notes that while they may lack many comforts, they possess everything necessary to thrive, highlighting the simplicity and clarity that comes from such an existence.