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The World Leaves Us Wanting
That’s how they sell you something
The world leaves us wanting. Our consumer-driven society needs our hunger. To be called upon to create supply, they need to first create a demand. They need us to need them. We have to feel like something is missing. We accumulate because we don’t know how else to identify the missing pieces we’re so sure are there.
The world isn’t the Earth we’re standing on. It’s the societies we’ve created on them. Because the Earth doesn’t leave us longing for more. It gives and gives enough. It gives all. It’s The Giving Tree of Shel Silverstein’s imagination, and if we aren’t careful, there will be nothing left for it to give.
The Missing Pieces
To shift the culture out of blatant consumerism, which creates a sense of perpetual dissatisfaction, we have to identify those missing pieces. I spent some time recently thinking about this. When the boutique I love pops up in my feed to show another amazing discount, I pause with my finger over the Shop button and ask what need I’m trying to meet. I have enough clothes. I even have more than enough. So why do I feel compelled to add more? What is the need under the desire?
When I doomscroll. When I watch mindless television when I’m only half paying attention. What are the needs under it all…
