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| Buddhists make the point that it takes very little to be happy.
A small child is happy with a feather, a piece of ribbon or a box.
As we grow older, such simple things do not seem to be enough to entertain
us any more. We get caught up in the drive to have more, more and
still more. Our neighbors have the latest whosie whatsit, so we have
to have our own, perhaps the later or next better model if possible.
And once we have it, how often do we actually use it?
We think of ourselves as overweight so let's throw money at our fat and maybe it will go away by itself -- the rowing machine, the exercycle, the stairmaster, the weights, the weight machine. Our kitchen doesn't have the right amenities so we have it remodeled and then find we eat out at least as often as before, and still cook no more often. Our new, bigger house now has that many more nooks and crannies to hold stuff, and somehow the stuff still seems to take over. Whence commeth our need to be so acquisitive? Do we have to indulge it so completely? Do we personally have to own the objects of our desire, or can we find a way to share things, especially the big things? Could we still respect them, keep them in good order, and thus be able to have even more (or do less)? And if we sere to find such a way to share, wouldn't that provide us with that much more interaction with others? Our focus on material things certainly means we focus less on one another. This flies in the face of the reality that we as humans are social beings who need to love, interact, belong and/or lead. Some who have seen the proposition that we have $150,000 worth of annual income suggest that they have made a concious decision to do more and live with less. |
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