Share and Bookmark
- Add to Delicious
- Add to Digg
- Add to Facebook
- Add to Google
- Add to StumbleUpon
- Add to Twitter
- Add to Yahoo!
- Send by Email
I am sure it comes as no surprise that there seems to be some problem with the economy today. However this is not necessarily my view, but the general view shared out there.
Apparently, companies are not making enough sales and profits.
Let us move now to watching television, do you notice how enticing every commercial is? They make sure we feel, that we are somehow not “good enough”, “not quite complete” or “satisfied” unless we have a certain product.
Now let us move into your own life. How many times do you hear yourself thinking or saying that there is not enough time, money, happiness, peace, etc, etc…
So what do the three events I described above have to do with each other? The chord that binds them, is that no matter where we look in life today, we live in a society that is obsessed with “more”.
And while this does not have to be a “bad” thing, the way most people use it today leaves their spirits empty, restless and incomplete. So let us move forward and examine a little closer this obsession of ours with “more”.
The Political Scale
I am currently reading a book called “Life, Money & Illusion” by Mike Nickerson, that has let’s just say, opened my eyes to a whole new way of looking at what is REALLY going on with the whole issue of the economy. And although I am only into the early parts of the book, of which I will do a full review here when I am done, it has already been instrumental in helping me understand the “real problem” with why we are seeing the changes we are today, where the economy is concerned.
Since the 1950’s North Americans were constantly fed the ideas that “we need to buy more“. A good running country has to have a good economy and it is up to us to make sure we see that happen. I am sure many people would agree that ever since then, for the most part, the human being was seen as nothing more than a consumer of goods.
From a political perspective, the message has been steady for decades now – a good economy is one that is growing. Hence we need growth to be functional, and that growth is just another way of saying “we need more products, more sales, more profits.”
And let us give them credit, for they have done a good job at making sure we continue in that very trend. Aside from very clever marketing, most items today have a very short lifespan deliberately to ensure a quick turnover rate.
But can we stop for a moment and ask ourselves, “how far are we willing to grow?” or better yet “how much can we actually afford to grow?” The planet we live on is a finite space with finite resources, and with the paradigms that the political and consumer leaders keep feeding us, somehow that critical detail is not realistically being considered.
It is hence time we break out of the brainwashing and start thinking for ourselves – will the idea of more actually bring about a healthy economy? Will it bring us sustainable living? And most importantly, will it make us happy?
I know many people cannot see it any other way and are currently depressed and wrapped up in what is happening with the global economy. I know if that is you, you may not be too happy with me, for saying what I am going to say in this article. But the change in the economy is not the consumer’s problem – believe me. The reason it is collapsing as it is, is because it is not serving the greater good. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer, while our environment and health crumble under all of it. Justice has been thrown out the window, and a select few controlling personalities are dictating how things ought to be for all.
Maybe you are ready to see things a new way, maybe you are not – but believe me when I say that our obsession with more growth where the economy is concerned, is one of the biggest illusions we as a human race have allowed ourselves to live with up to this time. The good news is, the bubble is finally bursting.
And without being insensitive to those of you who may be finding yourself in some kind of a “hardship” now, major change is usually followed by discomfort, but know that if you do not resist that change you will come out of it a stronger and a more complete person. It is all about how we choose to adapt to our new environments.
The Material Scale
Our obsession with more cannot be any more obvious than it is when it comes to shopping. The commercials we see on television and most popular media entice us continually with material goods and services. We constantly want and feel like we need more. More clothes, more rooms, more furniture, more toys, more knick knacks, more you name it.
It is so easy to see our obsession with more every weekend while visiting major department stores or shopping centers. People are constantly shopping. Be it a nice weekend, a rainy weekend and never mind a holiday weekend, the plazas are full of cars and people are shopping.
But do we ever stop and ask ourselves why? While there is nothing wrong with appreciating what we have manifested in the physical form, many of us have established a strong sense of self based on what and how much items we have. This is the real issue here. And some have just made shopping nothing more than a hobby.
Why though, have we come to use shopping as a crutch for pseudo-happiness? Why has shopping substituted family time, exercise time, meditation time, alone time?
I don’t think this message can be said any better than it is by Annie Leonard in her video “The Story of Stuff”. It is a free, 20 minute, phenomenal video that EVERYONE should see to really come to terms with how our life revolves around material goods and why. I wrote about it last year here.
Most of us have more clothes than we know what to do with, more make-up, more ties, more toys, more gadgets, tools, and things we will never even have a chance to use fully. And it doesn’t stop there. So many of us even use the obsessive more idea when it comes to basic things like shampoos and groceries. How many people regularly throw away food that has gone “bad” in their fridge?
Where does this obsession with more really come from? And why are so many of us slaves, yes literally slaves to it?
Could it be that we have forgotten how perfect and complete we are as beings, who do not need to judge their self worth or equate their identity with material goods?
At this rate of living, we have to understand that it is no surprise that as consumerism grew since the 1950’s, that was also the mark where our personal happiness began to decline. Today we have “more” stuff and are less happy than we were 60 years ago.
The Personal Scale
On a personal scale, our obsession with more does not end with material goods. Today we obsess about more time, more money, more freedom, more fun, more vacations, etc.
Out of these I am sure most of us can at least relate to the “more money” and “more time” ideas.
Our obsession with more money is perhaps the most violent one. I am not talking here about people who are scraping by making a living just to survive wanting more money, but about those of us with the big houses, cars, clothes, etc., who are never satisfied and always looking for more. Some people are just obsessed with the idea of having more money, not even to buy anything, but for the sake of more money period. Is it possible that there is a connection there to our egos, to having a sense of power, prestige, security, etc?
But do we ever stop and ask ourselves, “when would it be enough?” Do any of us really have a set point we would be happy with? Be cautious before you answer that, because many a person who came into “a lot” of money, quickly learned that they too still needed “more”.
And how about time? I recently read a post from a guest author on the UrbanMonk.net site called “How To Stop Fearing Time” that drives the point about the idea of “more time” from another angle. If we are really honest with ourselves, it is not that we don’t have enough time in our lives, it is all about what we CHOOSE to do with it (i.e. how we choose to spend it).
But if we can just stop for a moment and consider this obsessive need for more time and more money. Is it not all so relative? If I perhaps stopped doing meaningless tasks in my life and became more conscious of how I spend my time, would I immediately not have “more” of it? And if I became more conscious about how and what I spend money on, would I not automatically feel richer?
And the biggest thing to consider here is “our lifestyles”. So many of us, deliberately put ourselves in certain lifestyles that we THINK are going to make us happy and then spend time pining away for the “more time and more money” that we need to maintain them.
In the end this leaves us on a never ending training wheel, going around and around in circles and never really getting anywhere, but always thinking that there is a “there” that we need to get to.
So here comes the hardest part to accept – our obsession with more is self-created. At any point in time, you have the choice to change how you spend your time, how you spend your money and how you view life.
Indulging in the obsession with more is not making us any happier, any more fulfilled, at peace or enlightened. If it was, I would not be writing this article. It is blinding us from seeing the bigger picture of life. It is stunting our growth and leaving us stuck in a rut.
At the end of the day there is nothing more that any of us really need. We are whole, complete and perfect – but we have to go within to see and appreciate that, and as long as we are wrapped up in “more”, we are not present to those gifts that we already possess.
As I mentioned earlier, there is nothing wrong with appreciating material goods, or even with being abundant financially, that is not at all what this is about. It is simply that, too many of us are stuck in a vicious cycle of never being settled or satisfied, and judging ourselves and others based on material goods.
The bottom line is that if we and our future generations want to continue to enjoy this planet for years to come, and even more so if we want to enjoy ourselves and our lives here and now, then all I invite us to consider is – living a more sustainable, deeper and simpler way of life. We already have everything we need, it just depends on how we choose to see it.
*Photograph provided by Rutger de Moddertukker
d74s5eimcx
About the author:Evita Ochel, B.Sc., B.Ed., CHN - is the main author of EvolvingBeings.com where she writes about spiritual and personal development. She hopes to inspire people, to truly live out the life of their dreams and awaken the highest version of themselves. She is also a nutritional science and holistic health expert for optimal health and longevity. Learn more about Evita Ochel or Follow Evita Ochel on Twitter.
22 Comments to “Our Obsession With “MORE””
Excellent post. A very good point. I guess you’re right. We tend to expect things more and more… I agree that we should change our mind set. It’s better to have a simple and moderate life nowadays.
Hi Evita,
I admit need for more time has been my culprit. And as you say, what the heck do I mean by more time? We all, always, have 24 hours a day. It’s an issue of what I do in that time. (Until we figure out how to travel through time…)
And about money. I suspect my spirit guides don’t really care about my balance sheet. They don’t even seem to understand money. And my fear is I’m becoming more and more like them ;) As long as I have foods on the table and roof over me, what the heck is all about my balance sheet? Damn it. I ought to be doing what I am meant to be doing.
Just this year, my heart has opened my eyes up to “living a more sustainable, deeper and simpler way of life.” I love everything you wrote in this post, and thank you for shining a light on it.
Thank you for the link Evita! :D
@ LINA – Thank you Lina. You know a lot of people think that a “simple and moderate” life means that we “settle” for having less, or being less, and perhaps secretly hoping for more. But there is no way that is how I mean it or live it.
A simple and moderate life means, have and enjoy what you have, and most importantly APPRECIATE IT!!!! Our Earth’s resources are stretched to the max today, never mind people’s accounts are stretched to the max. And that is just that, no new item that we can buy will ever substitute the depth and aliveness of a beautiful walk in a forest, as an example.
As little or as much we have, in the end it is about being grateful and appreciative of that and enjoying what we have in the present, not always living in some future figment that our obsession with “more” can lock us into.
@ AKEMI – I know completely what you mean about the time issue. If I am not seriously conscious, I do see how we fall so easily into that trap. But looking over the years at the bigger picture and stepping back, I really see that our problem with time, for the most part stems with our obsession with doing more.
I can tell you personally, for me it would be so easy if I wasn’t conscious to say “I want to write 5 articles today”. Of course in 1 day I can get through maybe 2 or 3 and then at the end of the day, I will be left with a disappointed and unsatisfied feeling, that I need more time and why isn’t there more time, etc…
But the truth is, I can instead say to myself, today I will write 1 article, and this is not out of weakness or settling, but because as I write it, I will focus all of my love and attention and presence on it. I will be present to this moment and satisfied with it fully and completely and in the end will I not feel amazing? Of course!
So we can try to do 10 things, get only 5 done and be miserable, or we can aim for 3 and feel like we have all the joy and time in the world to really enjoy life.
As for money, LOL, you are right, I cannot see the spirit guides being too concerned with that. It is after all just an energy, like everything else and we CHOOSE to give it the meaning we do. So enjoy the happier and freer lifestyle that is evolving within you. I know I nickel and dimed everything in the past, until I learned to let go. And today the bills get paid, there is food on the table, a roof over my head and life is great.
We really sometimes don’t realize how little we need to be blissful! It takes just stepping away from the rat race to taste it and see the fullness of life there.
@ MEGAN – Hi Megan, oh how wonderful to hear! Without sounding pessimistic, not many people yet can do what you did or be even open to it. So good for you, I have no doubt that your life has taken on a whole new, deeper and richer meaning.
Thank you so much for the beautiful feedback :)
@ ALBERT – My pleasure Albert!
Desires are not bad–even desires for material things. It’s just that when we look at desires, they are always substitute desires for wanting joy, and we already have that. Once we can release the rubbish, there it is!
Great post, thanks. By the way, Charles Eisenstein has a good book in which he traces back the this “acquisitiveness” which we have in all aspects–personally, technologically, culturally–to root cause of separation.
Thanks for a thoughtful article.
@ KAUSHIK – Excellent point about the desires! And it is my hope that people don’t misunderstand the article but see it exactly as that. The problem is not with wanting, desiring, manifesting or creating material items, money or whatever else we may like – but with unconsciously getting caught up in a never ending cycle of “not enoughness” and of developing a sense of self and happiness based on having or not having something.
And thanks for the book idea, I am a proponent myself that the root cause of most if not all of the “problems” in our society is separation. I actually have an idea about a book on this topic that I want to write myself too.
Thank you so much for your valuable input here :)
A large number of my tour group – about 80% turned the tour into a shopping experience. That and the heavy smoking that goes on in the UK were the only negatives I had …
I do not like to dust so things very early on did not define me. I think that is why flowers – I love…..because they have a time and then they are gone.
Being here in the present is so hard for so many. I am getting much better at being present and just being
It’s a human nature. People always want to be happy, but they’re never truly 100% happy. Some of it’s greed, some of it’s jealousy, some of it’s selfishness, but it’s mostly ambition.
Once we reach a goal, we have nothing to do but set and work for another. If you want a million dollars, earn it all, and spend it, then what next? It was great while it lasted, but now that you don’t want anything, what is there left in life? Desires are part of a human’s purpose.
If someone has no wants left after they’ve gotten something, they don’t have anything more to live for.
@ PATRICIA – LOL Patricia, I don’t like to dust either and have always been repelled by clutter and lots of things in the house.
And yes you are right, it is hard for a lot of people to be in the present, but that is where we are moving towards in the changes that are taking place on the Earth right now. So it will be more and more easier for people to just enjoy the “now” without always wanting to be in some “future” state.
@ SHAMELLE – Thanks for stopping by Shamelle, you bring up some really good and valid points.
My to your first statement, my question is always, “why can’t we be truly 100% happy?” It is after all possible, but it appears more so of a “choice” for many people to take.
I have to tell you personally, I do feel that I am 100% happy and I so wish the same for everyone else, because I know that IT IS possible. It does not stop me from personal growth, but materially there is nothing and I mean nothing more that I want right now, and I do live a relatively simple life, some may say.
In terms of ambition, your comment makes me think of Dr. Wayne Dyer’s latest movie. It was called “Ambition to Meaning” and now has been renamed to “The Shift”.
I guess my opinion differs on the ambition part a little, (and I have to say it is beautifully illustrated in the movie) because ambition without meaning is just a run around chase, again to that “future state” where we “think” we are going to be happy in. While ambition with meaning is a beautiful state indeed, so as long as we have that then our happiness will follow naturally.
And as you and Kaushik (above) mention – desires are indeed not bad. It is just “how” do we approach those desires that can change the meaning? If you are living happy each day, while you are creating new desires then that is wonderful. But if your desires are taking away from your overall happiness, then I think there is something more that can be said about the purpose or meaning of those desires.
And as you say, indeed, growth is an essential part of life, or else we would have nothing more to live for. But the growth I speak of here is “finite” and that is where there is a problem, because our planet and resources aren’t designed for infinite growth. However, as an “evolving being”, our soul’s growth is infinite and it is that shift that is taking place on our planet right now.
The shift from focusing on the finite physical and attempting to make that grow infinitely, to personal inner growth, which is truly infinite!
Evita,
Do you know what’s been interesting for me has been that as I’ve started to write (about a year and a half ago) – I’ve found that I’m less consumed with wanting more (especially material goods). And I think I know why. It’s because I’ve connected with something deep within me, and it brings me much joy and happiness (as you mentioned above). I’m connecting to a deeper and more meaningful happiness…not superficial and short term happiness. And I’ve also found that I watch very very little television now, another big source of “more” and ‘excess”.
Great thoughts Evita…
At any point in time, you have the choice to change how you spend your time, how you spend your money and how you view life.
This one line says it all. It’s all about fear. The biggest three are “I don’t have enough.” “I don’t do enough” and “I am not enough.”
They need to be rewritten as:
I am enough.
I do enough.
I have enough.
What if these were our first thoughts in the morning, again when and if we are afraid during the day and again before we fall a sleep. A simple solution and just a shift in perception.
@ LANCE – Lance I COMPLETELY know what you mean. I have seen a similar shift within me over the years. It is so true, when we connect to that deeper space, the material world just doesn’t hold the same significance in our lives that it used to.
It doesn’t mean that there is anything wrong with the material world, as I keep re-stating, but it is all about its meaning for us and how, if at all it dictates our happiness. Happiness should really come from within us, and not be dependent on anything – we are such perfect and complete beings.
Thanks Lance :)
@ TESS – Wow Tess, I could not have said it better myself!! You really narrowed it down and pin pointed a huge underlying issue here that got us to where we are. It ties in too, to what Kaushik said above as separation being a root cause as well of why we are where we are.
…just a shift in perception indeed! That was so marvelous Tess, and such a valuable addition! Many thanks to you :)
I’m with you 100% on this. So many cities “must” grow, expand, all for the sake of “progress.” The tipping point is always overlooked, it seems. The economy… Our personal lifestyles… Bigger, better, more…
When will we all see that our happiness and satisfaction and joy and appreciation CAN take center stage in our lives? As you say, it’s not at all about discounting or discarding the notion of abundance. It’s about, INTENTION. It’s also about being fully aware of our choices,the reasons why we choose as we do, and about being aware of the resulting impact, for ourselves and for others and the greater world. People, businesses, countries… There is no difference in our choices, just the scale.
Excellent post! Thank you, Evita.
My issue is also with time. For a long time, I never seem to have enough of it! More recently, I have learned to make some peace with it. I figured that the more craving I have for time, the more struggle I am putting myself in. It has been strange that while trying to do less, I actually ended up with more results.
This is one of your best post I’ve read so far, it nails our lives to the source (ourselves) and the need for more of material things verses the love of family and friends which I truly find as the best treasure in life.
I’ll be reading this again to validate what I think I already know an outside point of view can be just what we all need….
Dorothy from grammology
grammology.com
Another view is no problem with the economy or anything else exists. All energy is in the process of shifting away from the illusions human beings imagine and perpetuate. The shift in consciousness triggers an awakening to bring focus back to awareness of unconditional love and other truths that were temporarily forgotten.
Hi there Evita – great sentiments – if we can get in touch with our inner wealth we will have everything we need (on the inside AND on the outside). Cheers – Robin
@ EVELYN – Hi Evelyn and you said it so well in your last line. Indeed when we become present and more at peace with any one particular task, we end up coming out more productive.
Time, like money I find is such a difficult issue to deal with for so many people. But the best advice I can give is the one I use myself – become conscious with why we need to do so much in a given day. Are we tied to something? Are we expecting some particular result? Are we holding onto what we think we “should” or “must” do? And who is placing all these obligations upon us?
Upon such contemplation we usually find that really we are the only ones that are pushing ourselves for more. And while again there is nothing wrong with wanting to create more of anything we want in our lives, it is about reaching and respecting a certain, individual balance where we can have the “more” we want, but be at peace while getting it. If we are not at peace, then, and this is my opinion, it is not worth it.
Nothing is worth our burn-out and losing life for just being.
@ DOROTHY – Thank you so much Dorothy! You said it so well, family and friends are the real treasure and nothing, no item or money in the world can replace the love of others in our lives.
@ LIARA – Yes, indeed Liara. I completely hold that thought that anything which does not serve us is passing away. There is nothing bad or good about this, it just is.
Naturally on a bigger scale I do feel that this serves the human race and our evolution better, but that is my perspective on things.
It is indeed amazing to bring back focus on the awareness of unconditional love!!!
@ ROBIN – Hi Robin and thank you so much! Your thoughts and words are a wonderfully valuable addition here.
[...] Now what about other stuff? Well we know that we live in a society obsessed with stuff, so this is also a good time for a reflection on what drives you to buying so much. Most of what the average person buys is not needed and sometimes even compulsive, unconscious shopping. For more information on this subject you can check out my article entitled “Our Obsession With More“. [...]
Is it so wrong of me to want an iPhone, a better digital camera, a new laptop, good new running shoes, and 2 or 3 new sports bras? Yes, probably. But I do have a bunch of good-used stuff to sell on eBay, so maybe I just better smile and be happy that I soon will be getting a lot of use out of things I will enjoy.
More, more, more…
:)
And as usual I like what Liara Covert sayss, reminding me verything is there for our taking and enjoyment. So much to be grateful for. Fear is something we don’t have to be slaves to.
@ JANNIE – Forgive me for being late in answering your comment!
Absolutely Jannie, we should never be a slave to fear, but neither should we be a slave to material items. I think that was one of the main ideas that I really tried to address here.
Wanting more is not “bad”, it goes much deeper than that. Why do we want these things? Why so much? Is there some self definition there?
These and other questions, I think are just the only things I invite readers to ask themselves. There is a lot to discover about ourselves, when we dig in a little deeper :)