Columnist Dan Abernathy.

Courtesy photo

I’m thinking we need a “do-over” with our society. The crack in this one is rapidly growing beyond repair. The basis for the next one should have more spirit and less judgment. In the next, one we could live with simplicity, enjoy the moment, listen to good music, dine with friends and accept everyone for just who they are. What you have should not matter, as what you own does not make you who you are.

We, as a whole nation, have been lost in this exhausting, usually competitive routine of progress that leaves little time for self and calmness. We are rapidly losing our human qualities of compassion and dignity to make way for ownership and material wealth.

Possessions have started to possess us more than we possess them. What a human owns, or has owned, has become far more important than the human being. 

Today’s modern world has become overly materialistic, which means that we are more interested in buying objects than enjoying life simplistically. We buy a lot because we harbor an immense faith in the power that whatever we buy will have a decisive impact on our current state of mind.

We have developed a trust that a diamond ring will enable us to sustain a long-lasting and harmonious relationship. We purchase particular items of clothing to ensure ourselves a visual interest. Our belief that ambitions might be accomplished through our possession of a symbolic object is a poignant feature of our age.

In our devotion to the capacity of material things, we rely on what an anthropologist would call a fetish object. We hope that what we have will better enable us to oversee major interventions in daily life. We buy because we hope that our fetish objects will have success in transforming complex and elusive bits of our internal functioning towards happiness.

Materialism is the fruit of a genuine and balanced place for material objects within the overall context of a good life. It’s imagining that material things must have some mysterious power to ease complicated emotional dilemmas. We have been swayed into believing that material things can contribute to the arduous mental work required to achieve fulfillment, purpose and peace of mind.

This philosophy of material objects is being applied to the consumer realm so a material object can embody an important set of values. By having an object, the values that it refers to have a chance to grow more stable, resilient and convincing, prompting a piece of inner development. Unfortunately, material objects have no role whatsoever in true happiness.

Materialism has encouraged us to have excessive faith in quasi-magical solutions originating from material things. It has encouraged us to believe that objects can have greater effects than they truly can. In certain situations, it can ignite a negative position and render us guilty of our supposed greed.

It immensely matters to our state of mind that the colors in our vicinity are a certain way, and that there is a particular spirit to the things that we see and touch every day. Beauty and materialistic value cannot be the sole catalysts towards happiness and inner wisdom.

People can be influenced by messages from their friends, society and the media which suggest material pursuits are important. There are a number of factors that can contribute to materialism in society. Peer group pressure and conspicuous consumption can also contribute to materialism. 

People can be more materialistic when they feel insecure or threatened, due to rejection, economic fears, or even thoughts of death. Materialism can also be a response when motivated by the idea that purchasing is the path to success and happiness and that it focuses on benefiting the individual consumer.

Materialism can lead people to become obsessed with comparing, accumulating, and acquiring, instead of creating and helping. When people seek happiness through material possessions over relationships it can also lead them to care less about the environment.

Materialism is caused by various dominant social examples, conspicuous consumption and the influence of a materialistic celebrity culture. These factors contribute to the importance placed on possessions and their acquisition as a means to reach desired end states.

Additionally, materialism can reinforce the desire to reduce psychological discomfort and the belief in the transformative powers of acquisition also contributes to the reinforcement of materialistic tendencies. Materialism is not solely driven by marketing activities but also by a combination of biological, social, cultural, socioeconomic, psychological and political factors.

We should be careful not to highly celebrate material life. We should confirm that the objects we invest in, the planet and ourselves by manufacturing those that stand the best chance of boosting our higher and better selves.

What is seen is that the greater part of the human population is lacking and dreads responsibility. We have complied and desire little better than to be told what to do. Providing unsayable rulers doesn’t interfere with the material comforts that have become our cherished beliefs. We are becoming perfectly happy to let ourselves be ruled.

The way of choice is how we should see the world. The way in which you choose to see what’s around you is the way you see the world you see. This is why we must rest our hearts, understand that we are co-existing energy and believe in love’s infinite journey. Spread the secret of this Tibetan proverb: Eat half, walk double, laugh triple and love without measure. - dbA

You can find more of the unfiltered insight and the Art of Dan Abernathy at www.contributechaos.com.