Look around you. Look at all the products you own. The most affluent kings of the previous centuries would be jealous of some comforts and luxuries you have, isn’t it? In our pursuits of mundane happiness, we spend so much on materialistic things - from designing the house of our dreams to owning the most advanced gadget. All our devices from refrigerators to watches to TVs are connected, and can be operated by voice now. We have a smart everything, don’t we?
However, the smart question is, what is the relation between buying material things and happiness? That’s what we are buying those things for. Research says not much. After a purchase, we adapt quickly to material, tangible things like a car or a house and once the novelty wears off, the shiny car or new house becomes the same old. Then we go back to buying more stuff. We are addicted!
We’ve been fooled!
The economy is plagued by a self-obsessed attitude which relies on our lack of contentment to buy things. The world of advertising and marketing is creative and smart in making us believe there is something missing in our lives. According to them, we haven’t achieved our full potential. But worry not.
Marketing is designed to tap into or create an inert emptiness within us. Because these companies have a “product” to solve our miseries, experts to back their claim, besides a great tagline, a cool jingle and a beautiful model.
“I see what you’re saying. What can I do?”
a) Read - How are we to imagine anything for ourselves when the directors and storytellers of these glamorous ads are providing the images for us? The powers that be are hard at work, 24x7, getting us to believe in their propaganda. The answer is simple: cultivate the habit of reading.
There have been countless thinkers who have reflected on the meaning of our lives. Books that stimulate our imagination and help us cultivate our belief system. Books that make us reflect on the direction and the meaning of our lives, and the actions, big and small, we can take to achieve that desired meaning.
b) Meditate - Some thinkers have reflected deeper than others and have not only described their findings but also the way to introspect. The key is to observe our minds and cultivate our happiness. We need to
take a step back and let our mind know these flashing images in our subconscious aren’t really as conducive to our well-being.
Meditation helps us gain more and more free will so that the people appearing on our screens don’t make our choices for us.
c) Serve - Maybe you have a lot of money and buying this or that didn’t hurt your wallet. Could we have used that money to help someone in need or in a philanthropic idea? We are not trying to be sanctimonious at all. There is a pleasure to be gained from buying the new products. Yet, when does it stop? When do we stop accumulating for ourselves and start alleviate others in need?
In times like these, we need to ask uncomfortable questions. Never has the world ever seen a human civilization where the richest eight people in the world have as much wealth as the poorest 3.5 billion people. The divide is mind-boggling and honestly catastrophic. Therefore, those with resources need to help the ones without them.
d) Become a conscious consumer - Your every buying choice impacts the world. When you buy something from a company, you are funding them to carry on with their activities. Therefore, it’s essential you know the activities of the company. You need to look beyond the labels and instant gratification and shouldn’t rely on what it says on the packaging of the product to make your judgement. Are there any human right violations or labor law violations? How is the T-shirt you are buying so much cheaper than others? Are there any unsafe or controversial substances used in the product? Are there any criminal cases against the company? It’s easy to find all this information. The online world is amazing.
Think of the last product or experience you bought that brought you immense happiness, albeit for a minute. Now contemplate, where was this happiness located? Where did you feel the happy sensations? The happiness, and even the dissatisfaction later, emerged from within you. The product didn’t send you some happy photons. It was merely a catalyst. The real source of happiness is inside us and with meditation, we all can find it. However, we need to start by changing our habits of looking outside for it.
