We’re living through the most excessive consumer culture we’ve ever known. And it’s not making us happier.
We all have a pot of JOY inside of us, and this joy is being suppressed by all the excess in our lives.
So why do we buy into the idea that more and more stuff, more social media, more entertainment, more doing, doing, doing is going to make us happier?
We’ve been lied to thousands of times every day our whole lives by the myth.
The Big Myth behind all this frantic consumerism goes something like this.
You are fundamentally flawed.
You are unworthy as you are.
Your worth in the world is based entirely on what you do (how productive you are) and what you have (stuff, status, position, power).
Unless you amass wealth, power and possessions, you are a failure.
And by being a failure, you should be ashamed of yourself and get yourself together.
You need to take pills for the anxiety, depression, stress and feelings of low self-esteem.
And then get back on the treadmill and work harder, harder, harder.
And once you’ve got all the stuff you could want and have the power and position, you’ll finally be happy.
(Hopefully).
This idea has infiltrated the minds of billions of people, all scrambling for more, more more more more in a never-ending vicious struggle to have it all. “It’s just a dog eat dog world, and I’ve got to do what I can to get my slice of the cake.”
But what happens if everyone is fighting for the top spot and trying to have it all? What happens when billions of souls engage in a relentless, crazed mission to consume, consume, consume? What happens when everyone feels they are not good enough unless they buy all the never ending stuff on offer and achieve all the things society demands of us?
We create a deeply unnerved, chronically dissatisfied society who are depressed, anxious, angry, disempowered, lost, confused and unable to feel peace. We’ve created a nation of hungry ghosts whose belly is never truly filled – no matter what we eat.
We are were destroying our precious planet by pillaging our natural resources in a vain attempt to get more stuff we don’t need and will only upgrade as soon as the upgrade arrives.
We work ourselves to death to try and stay productive and beautiful.
And if we don’t do as much as we want, or can’t get what we want, we magnificate negative emotions inside our hearts and minds to make ourselves depressed, anxious and miserable.
And then need more stuff to try and feel better for not having all the stuff we wanted.
Nice job.
What a great culture.
And, for the sake of it, let’s imagine we do become one of the tiny handful who does amass wealth and power over others. Does that mean you’ll be happy?
Will you feel satisfied?
From personal experience, having spent time with millionaires and even billionaires, these people are no more happy or satisfied than anyone else. In fact, in most cases, all the money and stuff become a burden to them – causing worry, fear or losing it all and a constant sense that they don’t know who they can trust. There is nothing wrong with money and wealth but does it make us truly happier in and of itself?
We can either play this twisted game, wasting out lives in the pursuit of more stuff, slaves to the advertising companies and social programming that’s ruining our lives. Or we can wake up from this terrifying nightmare, get off that exhausting treadmill of misery and claim back our lives, our time our joy!
*This is an excerpt from a new book about removing all the things that are running our lives and becoming naturally free.
