As the holiday shopping frenzy takes place in our society at the end of each year, the focus for many people is on the material nature of this reality and disconnection from their true selves. The infectious mentality and the addictive behavior to shop, and the illusion that somehow “stuff” will bring happiness and fulfillment create perfect distractions and numb the human mind away from conscious and creative living.
To overcome the spell of materialism and its addictive properties, cultivate the skills of critical thinking, presence, and mindfulness. Instead of getting wrapped up in a scarcity mentality, insincere obligations, or the dazzling hype of marketing products to you that you do not need, break free from the illusions.
Consider the impact that all this “stuff” has on your life and on our Earth. How many resources are wasted and how much pollution is created so that we can bring home more plastics, more chemicals, more junk, more clutter, and more disposable things? How many people have to work in unbearable conditions in other parts of the world so that we can have all this “stuff”? How much do you have to work in a life-sucking job to buy more “stuff”, instead of taking action to release yourself from financial stress to live freely?
Get creative instead, and put a new plan into action. If you choose to or “have to” buy gifts for others during any time of the year, consider how you can change those from material gifts to experiential gifts, from mind-numbing gifts to educational gifts, from obligatory gifts to “for-the-love-of-doing-it” gifts. Consider how you can bring real value to the lives of your loved ones. Enrich your life and the lives of your loved ones with things that money cannot buy and which do not cause pollution or human corruption.
We don’t need more stuff.
We need more love, more understanding, more patience, more presence and more meaning.
The Story of Stuff
To help inspire and motivate you to embrace a richer and more meaningful way of life by releasing your reliance on material stuff, I highly recommend watching the wonderful documentary film called The Story of Stuff. The film is only about 20 minutes long, very simple, yet creative, catchy, and smart with just the right dose of humor. The film goes through the 5 steps of how our “stuff” is made from extraction and production to how it is distributed, ends up in our homes, and then how it is disposed of. On the official Story of Stuff website, you can also find other videos and articles dedicated to raising awareness about our materialistic society, out-of-control consumerism, and the trash it produces, and the impact all this has on our health, other people, and the environment.
The “Story of Stuff” film really resonated with me as it represents very well what it means to be an evolving being. It is one of those life-changing films for those who are ready to shift away from consumerism and materialism. Depending on where you are in your journey, it may be old news to you, and you may already be aware of all the ideas covered in the film, or it may be eye-opening and lead you to change your shopping habits. Either way, it shines a light on what it means to be a conscious consumer.
While there is much green-washing and climate change guilt and propaganda going around in all media these days, my attraction to the message in the “Story of Stuff” comes from the negative effects that consumerism and materialism have on our mental health and spiritual evolution. Yes, stuff is cheaply and poorly made today. And yes, people are exploited on all levels, while corporations get richer. And yes, our environment is being severely polluted by the incessant production of too much stuff, disposable stuff, and toxic stuff. However, what we should not miss in the midst of these messages is that there is another way to live than to revolve one’s life around work and shopping. Our obsession with material items, shopping, and consumerism is preventing us from going for walks, spending time in nature, cooking our own meals, meditating, reflecting on life’s bigger questions, and spending time in person with family, friends, or community members. As such, I feel this is a video for our era, which could not have come at a better time, given all the environmental and health damage and injustice we have inflicted on our Earth and ourselves.
The film and its message support conscious human evolution and awakening for 3 main reasons:
1) It addresses the need for action when it comes to the environment, our health, our chemical-laden lifestyles, and our ever-growing problems of disappearing natural resources and inadequate waste disposal, as well as what it means to be a steward of the Earth.
2) It addresses how the emptiness we feel inside tries to fill itself and find happiness by immersing itself in consumerism and the pseudo-happiness we get from acquiring ever more stuff.
3) It is about waking up and bringing about change through our life choices and not about sitting back passively or being naïve or ignorant of what is going on. It sheds a spotlight on how consumerism and materialism destroy human dignity, our physical and mental health, and our environment. The way we have gotten accustomed to doing things is not serving us; rather, it is destroying the quality of our lives.
For your health, happiness, fellow human beings, and the environment, it is worth making changes in how and what we consume. We can sit back and blame governments or corporations for making things as bad as they are, but the truth is that we are supporting the sick system every time we make a purchase that is mindless, compulsive, or unnecessary. We are the ones who are feeding the consumerist monster, which is never satisfied unless we are buying and consuming something, and we can stop this madness. Challenge yourself and put this into practice next time you go shopping. Think about and consider the question at all times, “is this stuff really necessary?” Every person and their actions count and contribute to either being part of the problem or the solution to make this Earthly reality a better place to for all.
