http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man’s_Search_for_Meaning

“Fundamentally, therefore, any man can, even under such circumstances, decide what shall become of him - mentally and spiritually. He may retain his human dignity even in a concentration camp.”

“We can discover this meaning in life in three different ways: (1) by doing a deed; (2) by experiencing a value; and (3) by suffering.”

Nelson’s mother died when he was very young. after a couple of years, Nelson’s father remarried to a woman who had 2 children from a previous marriage, a pair of fraternal twins named Joanie and Johnny. When Nelson was 12, his father died in an accident, and with no known relatives, Nelson was in left in the care of his step mother. Nelsons father had left a pension that his widow could collect and she spent the money on Joanie and Johnny, but not on Nelson. Finally, in the spring of his 15th year, he was literally thrown out of the house.

He spent most of the summer homeless. and got a part time job pumping gas at a service station. ( this was in the late 60’s when full service stations were still common) After a few days, the station owner realized that Nelson didn’t have a home, and tried to get Nelson to stay at his house. Nelson refused, but finally met the request halfway, by agreeing to sleep on a cot in the parts storeroom at the station.

The owner insisted that Nelso finish high school, so Nelson would walk to and from school and in the afternoon, evening and on weekends work at the station and on his homework. BY the time he graduated, he had become an excellent mechanic. Nelson eventually bought the station and today runs a respectable and large auto repair service.

The second guy was Steve. Steves parents had died when he was young, leaving the eldest of his 2 brothers, Ralph, as the breadwinner. Ralph, who was 16 at the time had to quit school to find work. Steve, the youngest, stayed home help with Randall (the third brother who was mentally handicapped. ) The three brothers lived in a house that was so dilapidated, that you could see the single lightbulb through the gaps between the planks in the walls, from the street as you drove by. I honestly don’t know how they survived the winters in that place. I never really knew Ralph or Randall, Steve and I were good friends. Steve had practically nothing, but he would give someone the shirt he was wearing if he thought they needed it. Steve married a nice girl and became a farmer.

I guess the point here is that by not having any luxuries help you to appreciate the true necessities of life.