A man I work for was told he would die in a month if he didn’t find another doctor to refill his morphine pump. He told me about it, and even though this was not exactly a death sentence, he took it very seriously.
“I was planning on getting a 3-D television, now all that’s on hold,” he said.
Of course, he was concerned for his wife’s future, but this is what stuck with me. Remarks like this make me concerned for people who devote their lives to paper-chasing.
So many people go to school to meet societal expectations but have little interest in the learning experience. They do this to get a job that will bring them the fortune they’ve dreamt of all their lives, meaning the freedom to blow their money as they wish.
Looking skyward toward their ultimate goal, they think one day this will all pay off. Every dollar they get goes to pay for a home, car and lots of stuff to fill up those spaces. The wish list never ends. As soon as we get what we want, there is another void to fill.
The man I referred to earlier has objects everywhere but the floor. I use a roll of paper towels in a single round of cleaning. Looking at everything he owns, he tells me he wants to get rid of it all and wishes he never accumulated so much in the first place. All these little purchases he added up throughout his lifetime mean nothing to him.
I have the same impulse and it’s a difficult one to switch off. I spent an almost $4K inheritance in two months. I have nearly $2K in credit card debt and would probably have more if my credit limit were increased.
In fact, the same week that the Occupy movement encouraged people to close their bank accounts, Wells Fargo gave me an extra $400 in credit. Incentive to stay with them, I supposed.
Even more pathetic is how empty I feel when I have no choice but to live within my means, cards maxed out, account in the negative.
I’ve always been able to meet my basic needs, so why do I feel like a drug addict in detox when I’m forced not to spend money?
I find myself wishing I had never been born into a capitalist society the way I wish I had never started smoking. It’s difficult to live life without these vices, not because they are necessary but because we are accustomed to them. They are hard habits to break, substance addictions.
Like the ephemeral pleasure of smoking a cigarette, I get a great rush when I’ve bought something. I imagine its place in my life which is forever changed because of this object. A week passes and my life is indeed different, but only in that I have less money and another object taking up space in my life, requiring maintenance and begging me to give it attention.
My phone calls to me every morning, as does my laptop. We think we’ve entered a new way of life by buying these devices because there is so much you can do with them. So much time to waste, so much to be distracted by, so many ideas to explore on Wikipedia and StumbleUpon.
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Granted, these objects have some use, but like any addict we don’t know when to stop, how to unplug and engage with things of importance, like our family.
Imagine two different people on their death bed. One succeeded in amassing wealth while spurning their loved ones to make more time for work. One made choices that fulfilled his basic needs without compromising his relationships. Who is happier?
As with any addiction, consumers are consumed by their perceived need to accumulate, and they sacrifice the most meaningful life experiences as a result. To quote Tyler Durden, the “Fight Club” protagonist, “Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don’t need. We’re the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War’s a spiritual war … our Great Depression is our lives.”
I could not have put it better. I feel powerless to change the mentality of a society that is much too slow to acknowledge poisonous consumerism. They’re too blinded by The Dream, which, when brought into reality, has a dark side that isn’t apparent until it’s too late.
If we keep spending money, we are further intoxicating businesses with the substance that drives them to abandon ethics and humanity to get more of it from us. The answer is to quit, which sounds hopeless but is more promising than living The Dream that will never come true.
