Keeping up with the Joneses has become a national pass time. Bigger, better, faster, more – we are a living in a consumeristic society. Materialism has taken hold and become a staple especially in the younger generations.
How much do you really need and why?
Basic needs come down to food and shelter. There are over half a million homeless in the United States alone in 2019. It seems like we need a reality check some times. If you have a job, a car, a home (rented or not), food to eat, and clothes to wear – Yes, you are blessed.
Beyond the basics
Once we have our basic needs covered, it is human nature to want more. We all want money to upgrade all of the basic necessities, to travel and enjoy life, to take care of our health and wellbeing. There is nothing wrong with working hard and enjoying the fruits of your labors. The American dream has long been a self sustaining abundant life.
More and more though it feels like many are not appreciative or grateful for everything they have. They run around comparing their lives to everyone else’s. When they don’t match up or exceed, sometimes they fall in to the trap of feeling not good enough, which leads to depression. To judge based on outside appearances only gives a false reading.
“The true measure of a man is how much he would be worth if he lost everything.”
We have some how propagated the idea that the one who accumulates the most and dies with the most toys wins. Im not knocking money, having money, or being rich. I am fully in favor of all three. What I am knocking is the idea that more money makes you a better person or guarantees that you have a better life.
Fact is there are plenty of depressed miserable people in every tax bracket.
Where Joy Comes From
The simple answer is within. Rather than focusing on what you don’t have, try flipping the script and focus on what you do have – what you are happy for, what you appreciate, your health if you have it, your friends, family, your pets, anything that makes you feel good at any level.
Like attracts like. Opposites do not attract, at least not on a vibrational level. When you give your attention to something you bring in more of it – good or bad. If you focus on always being broke… chances are that streak will continue. Stop it.
When you stop and look around and realize that your life isn’t a contest and the destination isn’t the end all be all, the beauty is in the NOW. It makes it easier to realize you are likely doing better than you may have thought.
At the end of life, no one says “Oh I wish I had worked more” They say “I wish I had spent more time taking a breath, appreciating the little things, and actually saying yes to experiences”.
There is only one you. You are living a life no one else will ever get to live and experience. Make it your own and enjoy it