Conspicuous Consumption

"We are encouraged to spend money we don't have, on things we don't need, to create impressions that don't last, on people we don't care about."

-- Tim Jackson

It's funny. I posted this quotation as a status update on Facebook, and within minutes three of my friends responded with comments that basically said "not me." Well, I'm glad that my friends are so economically and psychologically enlightened, but I think we've all been guilty of at least some of what Tim points out above.

But to take a step back, he is not pointing fingers at any specific consumer, per se. What he's saying is that retailers, advertisers, and even our national economic policy encourages people to spend beyond their means. And any time you're buying stuff on credit you are literally spending beyond your current means.

The fact that retailers and advertisers encourage this is expected and nearly universally accepted. But the fact that our economic health as a nation is based upon people buying crap they don't really need with money they don't really have is a national disgrace. Better for the economy to crash and burn (which it will do eventually in on way or another, anyway) than to continue to prop it up with conspicuous consumption!

Back to my friends. As enlightened as they, and we, like to see ourselves, if we look around our homes (many of which are, in and of themselves, too freakin' big) we'll find all kinds of stuff we don't need. Why we bought it, whether it was to impress others or not, is a question we can sort out with our therapists, but the fact is we are all complicit victims with both Madison avenue and Wall Street.

What to do? Divest! Get rid of all that crap you don't need. Simplify, simplify, simplify. Or get rid of it all and start over. Hopefully with more consciousness and less acquisitiveness.

Then you can invest your time and money in more important things. Like creativity, helping others, caring for the planet, finding joy within and sharing it.

Life is so much more than just consumption. And it's so much more enjoyable when you're not ruled by the marketplace. Move beyond the current economic system and explore the alternatives. In all kinds of unexpected ways, the Universe will thank you.

The Bitch-Goddess Success

"The moral flabbiness born of the exclusive worship of the bitch-goddess success. That -- with the squalid cash interpretation put on the word success -- is our national disease."

-- William James

William James made this statement over 100 years ago. If he thought the American people were morally flabby back then, just imagine what he'd think of us today! 

And he's right. We've missed the friggin' boat when it comes to seeing and choosing what is really important in life. Instead we've chosen to believe in the myths of perpetual economic growth, happiness through material acquisition, and spending our way to success.

On our refrigerator we have a small, two-panel cartoon. The top panel is entitled "Successful Man" and it depicts a man in his car, stuck in traffic, obviously angry, and snarling into his cell phone. The bottom panel labeled "Unsuccessful Man" shows a guy walking down the street, free and unencumbered, with a smile on his face.  It's a cartoon that I'm sure William James would appreciate. It's a cartoon that I use to remind myself how lucky I am that I don't have to battle freeway traffic, but can instead walk around town each day with  smile on my face. And it shows, quite parsimoniously, our national confusion around the true meaning of success.

But like William James, I'm not sure that success should even be our chief aim. Perhaps authenticity, or fullness, or self-actualization, or joy are more worthy of being linked to our life's purpose. One of the major problems with success is how many other things become merely means to its end, how much happiness we sacrifice on a daily basis to attain some mythical, future goal that we think will make us super-happy. It's another example of the specious belief that the ends (success) justify the means (traveling in hellacious freeway traffic to a job you can't stand in order to live in a McMansion you don't need, etc., etc.).

We all need to wise up and go back to basics. What is really important? What do you really enjoy doing? How do you really want to spend your life? As the old saying goes, "No one on their death bed says, 'I wish I'd spent more time sat the office.'"

So, let the bitch-goddess go! I know she's enticing and promises all sorts of future pleasures, but she's a deceiving liar, and the sooner you find out her true nature the better. Morality doesn't have to be a wrestling match with the devil each day; it is deeply encoded in our genes, in our psyche, in our soul. We just need to remove ourselves from the marketing hype and media hoopla so that we can quiet down long enough to hear our real desires, hear what truly makes us happy. And when enough of us do, the tumbleweeds will outnumber the SUVs on the freeways, and walking will once again be experienced and appreciated as both a sane and happy mode of transport. 

Celebrate the Recession!

"Real wealth is perishable: food, health, trees, flowers, herbs, healthy soil, clean water, fresh air, friends and art. Learn to value and appreciate those above all else."

-- Kevin & Donna Phillippe-Johnson

Economic downturns are not only inevitable, but also extremely useful. They are the perfect time to take stock of what is really important in life. Hint: It's not SUV's as big as Texas, jumbo, flat screen, high definition TV's, or overpriced dinners at those places that dribble little rivers of colorful sauce all over your plate.

Kevin & Donna have pretty much nailed what is important -- nature, health, friends and self-expression. Everything beyond that is at best gravy, at worst greedy consumerism that attempts to fill a hole in your soul with store-bought doodads.

Simplicity and serenity go hand in hand. They both produce and support each other. By valuing and appreciating the simple things, the real things, we not only experience joy and abundance, we insure that there are plenty of simple things, thus plenty of joy and abundance, to go around.

So celebrate the fact that our economy is in the crapper! Make your own wine, brew your own beer, and drink a toast to "market correction." It's going to get alot worse, folks, before it gets better, and, with any luck, "better" will not looking anything like we thought it did before.

Value the real wealth, the shared wealth of life. Appreciate the natural, the unadulterated. We are rich beyond our wildest dreams! And it has nothing to with GDP, stock prices or 401K's.

The Simple Life

"We ate well and cheaply and drank well and cheaply and slept well and warm together and loved each other. "

-- Ernest Hemingway. A Moveable Feast.

Eating well, drinking well, sleeping well and loving -- throw in "reading" and you've got the formula for the perfectly simple life.

And yet, we spend our precious time chasing after Hummers (of both kinds), Mc Mansions, ginoromous flat screen TVs, cell phones that can play music, take pictures, shoot and run videos, text, surf the web, IM, and trim your toenails, all simultaneously -- thinking that we need all this crap to enhance the quality of our lives!

Want a mantra that's rooted in reality? Repeat after me: Slow down and simplify. Do the basics of life well, cheaply and joyfully, and the rest of life will take care of itself.

Why complicate things?

There's not much more to say. Try it and see.

Simple-minded

"Only simple minds can understand this complex problem called life."

-- A. Sujata

Simplicity unties, and transcends, complexity. A simple mind sees only what is. A complex mind sees the world through theories and fears, through strategies and desires, and always compares what is to what ought to be. When a complex mind meets a complex world, complexity is compounded exponentially.

At its core life is simple. On the surface, life appears complex. A complex mind becomes enmeshed in, and enamored by, surface details. A simple mind dives deep to the core, to the ocean floor, of life. From the depth of simplicity, understanding emerges.

To truly understand life you don't need to read more books, listen to more pundits, participate in religious ritual, or get another degree. All you need to do is sit quietly and allow your mind to become quiet, too. Hint: It may take awhile. But even as you wait for your mind-waves to subside, you will have moments of peace, flashes of clarity, times of understanding. The seas will shine like glass, and they will momentarily reflect the simplicity of reality.

I know, you're way too busy to sit quietly and do nothing. So, start with five minutes, stolen away, somewhere in the midst of your day. Breathe in, breathe out. Watch the loud, crashing waves of thought break on the shores of your mind. There's nothing to figure out, nothing to solve, nothing to put right -- at least for five minutes a day. And next week, maybe for ten.

Complex life, simple mind. Counterintuitive. You say, "It will never work." I say, "You never know until you try."