Chapter 27: Consumers

Dear reader,

It's been a while and my goodness does it feel good to be back. Come here you, give me a hug :D 

Yesterday I was walking a mall in Nottingham. Winter has arrived and festivity approaches as the many decorations have emerged all over the city. Christmas trees, hanging lights and lanterns, flashing lights, even carols and famous Christmas tunes were being played by musicians on the streets as well as in the shops themselves; Tom Jones was singing "Baby it's Cold Outside".

While I genuinely love that Christmas brings everyone's spirit together (as I am all for oneness and completeness, rather than separation), the very spiritual connected-ness that I had been seeking was lost completely in what we people call "shopping".

As much as I want to base this blog around Christmas and it's true meaning and why consumerism has sucked the life out of religious celebration, I will for today at least, refrain from doing so. Sigh with me now :). Today's blog post is entirely about consumerism in western society and rather looking at the word as a term as one would find in the dictionary or get taught as in a classroom (artificial constructs of the brain), I want you to for the purposes of this blog imagine it as a large monster, like the one found in fairytales, the one that children hide from under their pillows.

One of these monster's arms is television. Television in my opinion conditions humanity from cradle to grave into telling them that they "are not enough". It tells you that because you do not own the latest Iphone, or the latest fashion, you are not complete and in fact you never will be. It then shows you a beautiful model wearing these products (usually celebrities, who have replaced our gods for most people) and then falsely preaches that if you buy these products you will look like them. Those with working jobs are so exhausted from their daily routine that the only thing they want to do when they get through the door is turn the television on, thereby starting the advertisements telling them to buy more, and the cycle begins again. We wear our new clothes for a month and after that we lose interest in what we buy because again we are conditioned to believe that what we own presently is not enough. 

Which leads me onto say why owning lots of "stuff" is never enough. It is a game where you as the consumer always lose. Technology never comes out that has a tag line "will be the best for a thousand years". Instead it says: "the latest in such and such technology". Innovation deliberately takes tip toe approaches, advancing tiny portions each year, with the view to make the most profit as possible. Nothing is made to last, if it was then businesses would collapse in a heartbeat. 

Now I know this may seem obvious to all of you, and yet why are we all, myself included, falling into the trap continually? I believe that consuming is an addiction, and like all addictions whether that is alcohol, smoking or bad food, they are all manifestations of the yearning to be complete. Why do people drink? They wish to complete the circle of their friends who drink socially, or, they drink to drown their sorrows. We yearn to be connected with the true oneness that exists between all of us and so we consume to forget, ie: to distract ourselves, or to substitute for that yearning. Yet by substituting these material pleasures  blow away like ash in our mouths--they never last, and neither do we.

It's all rather grim isn't it? Well no--not really, not at all :D. You see while I will write about this on a future blog post, while products are designed to distract us from death, death should also be a stimulus to enjoy and take the most out of life. Live every moment as if it were your last has been the pinnacle of all of my wisdom over the last two months. This simple teaching does not say if we are all going to die, buy as much useless products that we will never need and waste yourself away on as much stimuli as possible because ultimately it doesn't matter. No. What it taught me and should teach you is that find a passion in your life, something that brings you true joy and joy in others, and let this be your driving force. Consuming other's creations is allowing yourself to forget about what abundant resources you have in yourselves to consume. Consume what is in your spirit, consume what is in your curiosity and watch as you start to grow from a mere consumer of material to a consumer of wisdom, love, passion, talent and skills that will change you tenfold over. If you are to die tomorrow, there will be no regrets.

Be humble in what you have, be grateful for what you have and fast your needs. For those who have a lot will never have enough, yet those who fast will always have plenty. Appreciate your basic needs of food, water, shelter and warmth during this winter and do not get lost down the rabbit hole. Switch off that television, and go read a book.

Have a great day you sexy person :). More love is coming, just hold the page.