The failure of materialistic "happiness"
http://www.articlegrow.com/The-failure-of-materialistic-quothappinessquot/a10650_1
Rossen
By Rossen
Published on 04/19/2009
Same with relationships – they are all about consuming sex, achieving material security (young girls with men at the age of their dads) etc. The only reason that should matter in a relationship is almost missing – real love and caring for each other, ready to overcome each other's differences on the basis of mutual compromise. When I go back a decade ago, people used to talk about having a relationship when they dated with someone for several months or more. Now young people (and not so young) call "relationship" (and they sincerely believe it to be such) every one-week sex affair that they happen to have during their vacation or with someone they met in the disco. In a real love relationship, when it breaks down for some reason, normally at least one of the partners needs some time to overcome it emotionally and be prepared for a new one. Now what we see is parnters admitting to have a "plan B" in the face of another man/woman. They say "well…I love her (present bf/gf)…but things are not going well...and there is some man/woman…that shows interest in my personality…and I do not have affair with her..but..I keep in contact just in case". Can you see how absurd such a statement is? The hard thing and at the same time the magic of REAL love is that you cannot feel it for 2 different persons at the same time. You take it as it is – with the risk that it might not last forever, that it might hurt when it comes apart, but if you are REALLY in love, you can never deliberately work on a "Plan B". All this shows that consumer's mentality is distorting our perception of the world, our system of values. We lose our emotions and our ability to love and care for other than our selfish ones. And to overcome the emptiness we feel, we get even deeper into materialism and consumption and so forth.
One of the reasons for the high level of stress we experience nowadays is the alienation of people and the constant state of alert as if everybody round us is a potential rival.
Limitation 3 – the fear of death
Whether he is consiously aware of it or not, the fear of dying and death plays a major role in a person's life and is a great determinant of his attitude and behaviour. Although death is an inevitable experience for everyone, in particular materialistic view has led people to try and keep the very notion of death away as much as possible. Even just talking about dying is enough to make us feel bad. The fear of the end of our existence makes us feel insecure. Our common sense tells us that we do not have control over death and still on unconscious level we are unable to accept it. One of the reasons for which people can not put a limit to their hunger for material goods and pleasures, is the attempt to keep their mind constantly distracted and if possible never give it time to turn its attention to the future with its known final end. Take the richest person you might think of. Most likely with his present level of wealth, he will be able to buy and have whatever he wants in the material world. But does he stop longing for more? Does he stops worrying about how to make even more money, acquire more businesses etc instead of just enjoying the rest of his life? No. And you know why? Because chasing on even greater wealth is the only way to trick himself into the false believe that he has the complete control over every aspect of his life. By the very essence of his believes, a materialist can build his confidence and sense of security on nothing else but material prosperity. It is an irony that the materialistc view that supposedly took us out on a higher level of evolution and made us free from superstition, religious and spiritual "nonsense", has actually gave us the fear of what is a natural process in our existence.
(…to be continued)
Same with relationships – they are all about consuming sex, achieving material security (young girls with men at the age of their dads) etc. The only reason that should matter in a relationship is almost missing – real love and caring for each other, ready to overcome each other's differences on the basis of mutual compromise. When I go back a decade ago, people used to talk about having a relationship when they dated with someone for several months or more. Now young people (and not so young) call "relationship" (and they sincerely believe it to be such) every one-week sex affair that they happen to have during their vacation or with someone they met in the disco. In a real love relationship, when it breaks down for some reason, normally at least one of the partners needs some time to overcome it emotionally and be prepared for a new one. Now what we see is parnters admitting to have a "plan B" in the face of another man/woman. They say "well…I love her (present bf/gf)…but things are not going well...and there is some man/woman…that shows interest in my personality…and I do not have affair with her..but..I keep in contact just in case". Can you see how absurd such a statement is? The hard thing and at the same time the magic of REAL love is that you cannot feel it for 2 different persons at the same time. You take it as it is – with the risk that it might not last forever, that it might hurt when it comes apart, but if you are REALLY in love, you can never deliberately work on a "Plan B". All this shows that consumer's mentality is distorting our perception of the world, our system of values. We lose our emotions and our ability to love and care for other than our selfish ones. And to overcome the emptiness we feel, we get even deeper into materialism and consumption and so forth.
One of the reasons for the high level of stress we experience nowadays is the alienation of people and the constant state of alert as if everybody round us is a potential rival.
Limitation 3 – the fear of death
Whether he is consiously aware of it or not, the fear of dying and death plays a major role in a person's life and is a great determinant of his attitude and behaviour. Although death is an inevitable experience for everyone, in particular materialistic view has led people to try and keep the very notion of death away as much as possible. Even just talking about dying is enough to make us feel bad. The fear of the end of our existence makes us feel insecure. Our common sense tells us that we do not have control over death and still on unconscious level we are unable to accept it. One of the reasons for which people can not put a limit to their hunger for material goods and pleasures, is the attempt to keep their mind constantly distracted and if possible never give it time to turn its attention to the future with its known final end. Take the richest person you might think of. Most likely with his present level of wealth, he will be able to buy and have whatever he wants in the material world. But does he stop longing for more? Does he stops worrying about how to make even more money, acquire more businesses etc instead of just enjoying the rest of his life? No. And you know why? Because chasing on even greater wealth is the only way to trick himself into the false believe that he has the complete control over every aspect of his life. By the very essence of his believes, a materialist can build his confidence and sense of security on nothing else but material prosperity. It is an irony that the materialistc view that supposedly took us out on a higher level of evolution and made us free from superstition, religious and spiritual "nonsense", has actually gave us the fear of what is a natural process in our existence.
(…to be continued)
Materialistic and consumer's mentality as an obstacle to happiness and harmony
The failure of materialistic "happiness" - Page 2 of 2
Same with relationships – they are all about consuming sex, achieving material security (young girls with men at the age of their dads) etc. The only reason that should matter in a relationship is almost missing – real love and caring for each other, ready to overcome each other's differences on the basis of mutual compromise. When I go back a decade ago, people used to talk about having a relationship when they dated with someone for several months or more. Now young people (and not so young) call "relationship" (and they sincerely believe it to be such) every one-week sex affair that they happen to have during their vacation or with someone they met in the disco. In a real love relationship, when it breaks down for some reason, normally at least one of the partners needs some time to overcome it emotionally and be prepared for a new one. Now what we see is parnters admitting to have a "plan B" in the face of another man/woman. They say "well…I love her (present bf/gf)…but things are not going well...and there is some man/woman…that shows interest in my personality…and I do not have affair with her..but..I keep in contact just in case". Can you see how absurd such a statement is? The hard thing and at the same time the magic of REAL love is that you cannot feel it for 2 different persons at the same time. You take it as it is – with the risk that it might not last forever, that it might hurt when it comes apart, but if you are REALLY in love, you can never deliberately work on a "Plan B". All this shows that consumer's mentality is distorting our perception of the world, our system of values. We lose our emotions and our ability to love and care for other than our selfish ones. And to overcome the emptiness we feel, we get even deeper into materialism and consumption and so forth.
One of the reasons for the high level of stress we experience nowadays is the alienation of people and the constant state of alert as if everybody round us is a potential rival.
Limitation 3 – the fear of death
Whether he is consiously aware of it or not, the fear of dying and death plays a major role in a person's life and is a great determinant of his attitude and behaviour. Although death is an inevitable experience for everyone, in particular materialistic view has led people to try and keep the very notion of death away as much as possible. Even just talking about dying is enough to make us feel bad. The fear of the end of our existence makes us feel insecure. Our common sense tells us that we do not have control over death and still on unconscious level we are unable to accept it. One of the reasons for which people can not put a limit to their hunger for material goods and pleasures, is the attempt to keep their mind constantly distracted and if possible never give it time to turn its attention to the future with its known final end. Take the richest person you might think of. Most likely with his present level of wealth, he will be able to buy and have whatever he wants in the material world. But does he stop longing for more? Does he stops worrying about how to make even more money, acquire more businesses etc instead of just enjoying the rest of his life? No. And you know why? Because chasing on even greater wealth is the only way to trick himself into the false believe that he has the complete control over every aspect of his life. By the very essence of his believes, a materialist can build his confidence and sense of security on nothing else but material prosperity. It is an irony that the materialistc view that supposedly took us out on a higher level of evolution and made us free from superstition, religious and spiritual "nonsense", has actually gave us the fear of what is a natural process in our existence.
(…to be continued)
The failure of materialistic "happiness" - Page 2 of 2
Same with relationships – they are all about consuming sex, achieving material security (young girls with men at the age of their dads) etc. The only reason that should matter in a relationship is almost missing – real love and caring for each other, ready to overcome each other's differences on the basis of mutual compromise. When I go back a decade ago, people used to talk about having a relationship when they dated with someone for several months or more. Now young people (and not so young) call "relationship" (and they sincerely believe it to be such) every one-week sex affair that they happen to have during their vacation or with someone they met in the disco. In a real love relationship, when it breaks down for some reason, normally at least one of the partners needs some time to overcome it emotionally and be prepared for a new one. Now what we see is parnters admitting to have a "plan B" in the face of another man/woman. They say "well…I love her (present bf/gf)…but things are not going well...and there is some man/woman…that shows interest in my personality…and I do not have affair with her..but..I keep in contact just in case". Can you see how absurd such a statement is? The hard thing and at the same time the magic of REAL love is that you cannot feel it for 2 different persons at the same time. You take it as it is – with the risk that it might not last forever, that it might hurt when it comes apart, but if you are REALLY in love, you can never deliberately work on a "Plan B". All this shows that consumer's mentality is distorting our perception of the world, our system of values. We lose our emotions and our ability to love and care for other than our selfish ones. And to overcome the emptiness we feel, we get even deeper into materialism and consumption and so forth.
One of the reasons for the high level of stress we experience nowadays is the alienation of people and the constant state of alert as if everybody round us is a potential rival.
Limitation 3 – the fear of death
Whether he is consiously aware of it or not, the fear of dying and death plays a major role in a person's life and is a great determinant of his attitude and behaviour. Although death is an inevitable experience for everyone, in particular materialistic view has led people to try and keep the very notion of death away as much as possible. Even just talking about dying is enough to make us feel bad. The fear of the end of our existence makes us feel insecure. Our common sense tells us that we do not have control over death and still on unconscious level we are unable to accept it. One of the reasons for which people can not put a limit to their hunger for material goods and pleasures, is the attempt to keep their mind constantly distracted and if possible never give it time to turn its attention to the future with its known final end. Take the richest person you might think of. Most likely with his present level of wealth, he will be able to buy and have whatever he wants in the material world. But does he stop longing for more? Does he stops worrying about how to make even more money, acquire more businesses etc instead of just enjoying the rest of his life? No. And you know why? Because chasing on even greater wealth is the only way to trick himself into the false believe that he has the complete control over every aspect of his life. By the very essence of his believes, a materialist can build his confidence and sense of security on nothing else but material prosperity. It is an irony that the materialistc view that supposedly took us out on a higher level of evolution and made us free from superstition, religious and spiritual "nonsense", has actually gave us the fear of what is a natural process in our existence.
(…to be continued)