#390 Shiny Things Lose their Sparkle - Don't Let it Bring You Down!

     As toddlers, we learn that our toys either break or get lost, but most often we learn that every single one of them, sooner or later, loses its ability to entertain us. For a while, we get very upset at breaking or loosing a toy, but gradually we automatically move on to newer, shinier, bigger, more expensive, more impressive distractions - even when the toys we already own are still quite new & serviceable.
     Our consumer society has trained us well to constantly thirst & hunger - always dissatisfied - constantly "in the market" for new distractions. Despite this lifelong pattern, it still comes as a huge shock - "an aha moment" - to some that after finally being able to buy the car of their dreams for example, they remain just as unsatisfied as before. 
     Of course we also pin our hopes for happiness on non-material shiny things: friends, lovers, jobs, status, fitness, physical health etc. NONE of these can consistently satisfy our thirst & hunger either.
     For many, this realization is such a crushing disappointment, that it leads to a lifetime of cynicism & depression, based on the fearful, quasi-religious conviction: life sucks, can't get better, only worse. 

                    "Don't let it bring you down
                    It's only castles burning, ....."           Neil Young

     Is it possible that we can & must outgrow reliance on externals to fulfill us? As adults, doesn't it make sense to "put away childish things"?

     "... it's never too late to take the less well-lit, but rich, essential path to mature adulthood. It comes through a mindful examination of one's personal and interpersonal life. 
        Hollis J. “Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life.” Gotham Books, NY, 2005.

 

Stephen Alvarez - National Geographic