We all seem to be getting more self-obsessed by the day. Turn on your TV or open a web page, and narcissism hits you smack in the face — everything screams ME! ME! ME!
I am trying to live a minimalist life,
but that doesn’t mean I still don’t own stuff.
We may be seeking to live a minimalist
life, but we are still consumers. After all, to live is to consume. I have
worked hard to escape excessive consumerism. Consumerism becomes
excessive when it extends beyond what is needed. When we begin consuming more
than is needed, boundaries are removed. Personal credit allows us to make
purchases beyond our income-level. Advertisements subtly reshape our desires
around material possessions and the consumption culture that surrounds us
begins to make excessive consumption appear natural and normal.
Excessive consumption leads to bigger
houses, faster cars, trendier clothes, fancier technology, and overfilled drawers.
It promises happiness,
but never delivers. Instead, it results in a desire for more… a desire which is
promoted by the world around us and slowly begins robbing us of life. It redirects our passions to things that can
never be fulfilled. It consumes our limited resources, our time and in some
cases we look to our neighbours and think why can’t I have what they have.
I have to ask, as long as you are
healthy, happy, have the basics, isn’t that enough? I say this as I curse that my computer again is struggling with the graphics in Secondlife. We all want what we
sometimes can’t have immediately. It is deciding is this a need or a want. To start to save and take the time to look forward to our little desires.
Imagine if all you wanted was the ball that this little doggie has in the picture above. He needs the obvious basics, food, water and above all to be happy and healthy. Imagine if all the material possession's were just a ball....
I was invited to be a blogger for Little Branch last year and was overjoyed at the opportunity. I love the lushness of their trees, their styles and design and showcase this for you which is the destination for us today: -
Destination: - The Little Branch@ The Liaison Collaborative, and Shiny Shabby
Young Peach Tree: @ The Liaison Collaborative,
Peach Tree: @ The Liaison Collaborative,
Bald Cyprus: @ Shiny Shabby
Wild Grass: @ Shiny Shabby
My Little Puppy: @ Fawny with spare pink pose ball as a ball
