Hello Friend.
If you are on any kind of spiritual path, any kind of personal development path, and kind of awakening path, consciousness path, or if you are simply one who wants to be happier, healthier, more successful than you are right now - this article is for you.
The Sleep Of Consumerism:
Today I want to talk about why it is so important that each individual wake up from our sleep of consumerism. I want to discuss with you why even if you think you have risen above the consumerism model that currently runs the world, there is a good chance that you are still buying into it. Not because you are stupid, not because you are lazy, but because the system has been very intelligently designed to keep you trapped in it without even realizing you are trapped in it.
I want to shed some light on the actual complicated nature of freeing yourself from the consumerism system, so that you can begin the delicate work of unravelling yourself. I want to highlight why so many of your problems boil down to this confusing issue of consumerism, and why this work to free yourself - while tedious and at times frightening - is so worth it.
I am in no way suggesting that you 'should' break out of it. It is not my place to tell you what is and is not right for you. All I want to offer are a few insights for you that may help you break free, if that is something you genuinely feel called to do. Because I know how convoluted this journey can be.
Lets start with some basics, so that we are all on the same page before we continue on.
Consumerism:The theory that an increasing consumption of goods is economically desirable; Also: A preoccupation with and an inclination towards the buying of consumer goods.
Economy: The wealth and resources of a country or region, especially in terms of the production and consumption of goods and services.
At this point, the world basically runs on this idea. The idea that buying things is good for the economy. That having more and more people who are in a position to be consistently increasing their ability to purchase more and more 'things' is the desired goal of the culture. Because we, the people, the culture, are simply an extension of the economy, which determines a countries/regions position of power on the global scale.
Ie. The people that run these countries/regions want to gather/maintain power.
Power Over What Exactly?
Resources. Land. People. Stuff.
The people in power want to be able to have enough resources to purchase ownership over other resources.
We have collectively agreed that this accumulation of things to advance the accumulation of other things equals power.
Simply, if you control the resources, you control the people.
I am hoping to that you can already see that there is a glitch in this matrix. Lets look at this in an example to illustrate this point.
First of all, ownership is a funny thing. Funny as in totally and completely constructed out of nothing.
You are under the illusion that you own something after you have paid money for it. Money, which is a representation of value or worth - it is not a real 'thing' in and of itself. Money is a construct of this system.
So back to you. You have money, and this is money that you worked for (ideally.) You provided a service, and were given in exchange a representation of the value that service has for the increased wealth of whomever you provided that service too.
Basically, someone outside of yourself determined the 'value' of your contribution via a dollar amount.
This dollar amount was constructed based on how much what you do allows whomever is paying you to acquire more goods, and thus more power. Ie. your company is deciding how much revenue you are going to bring into the company, vs. how much they are going to spend to have you do what you are doing. If that net equation is positive for them, they keep you. If not, you are let go.
And how does a company increase its revenue? It has to sell whatever it is selling at volumes larger than its competitors, or for prices that are lower than its competitors. It needs more consumers who have money to spend to spend its money on its specific products/services.
So there is a balance here - the company wants you to have money, but it also wants to be in control of where you spend that money, in order to better position itself on the world stage of resource management.
From there, you see that your company is wanting to acquire revenue, because the more revenue it has, the more buying power it has. The more buying power, the more resources/people that company controls. The more resources/people the company controls, the more the company has a say in how the world works.
The more the company dictates how the world works, the more the company decides who gets what resources, and thus always ensures that it is provided for first - and that its needs and interests are met - and then whatever is left over is distributed down the line, in order of importance based on how much that individual or thing serves the greater goal of increasing revenue, and thus power, for the company.
So this vying for power is really a fancy way of making sure that you get to have control over the resources as a way of ensuring your own survival.
This whole structure is built upon the idea that there is not enough to go around, and that we must fight for positions of power to control the resources, so that our interest and needs will be met before those of others - in case there is not enough for everyone.
Which means if you boil this consumerism stuff down to the very bottom, you see that it is a power play for survival. Nothing more, nothing less.
Power Means Ensuring Your Needs Are Met First
It means that the people who are in power, have decided that there are not enough resources to go around, and that their wants and needs are more important than the wants and needs of everyone else. They have worked to get to the top to ensure their own survival first. You are either playing along, and thus reward to the degree that you stimulate their continued growth, or you are against them and thus punished with resources being taken away and thus your power being diminished in the system.
Bottom line here: Value has been determined by the system to be the amount of buying power and thus control over resources you have. From this model, your value is being dictated to you by the system. This value determines your ability to acquire resources that enable your survival.
Enter, Meaning;
Now, of course it is not as simple as this. If it were, it would be much easier to remove yourself from the dictates of what is going on.
You do not only have a simple desire to survive. Survival is great and all, but you want something more.
You want significance.
You want to 'be' someone.
You want status and recognition and to be validated in your individual specialness.
More than mere survival is required here. You want joy, fulfillment, purpose and a sense of meaningfulness - either individual meaningfulness or a sense that this life holds meaning.
You want richness.
THIS is where the magic of the system really kicks in.
First things first when it comes to these more nuanced desires in life - there is absolutly nothing at all wrong with wanting significance, richness, meaning and fulfillment. This article is not designed to tell you to give up your desire to 'be' someone - quite the opposite. This is a natural human desire that is going to carry you many magical places - but only of you become aware of it within yourself, and only if you take personal responsibility for it.
Now, it has been assumed that the desire for survival is SO much more important than the desire for significance. Because the system has muddled the ability to survive - the ability to acquire resources and thus be able to ensure that those resources meet your needs before others - with value and significance.
Through this model of consumerism, all of a sudden it was possible to SELL you significance. It was possible to get you to believe that the more you have, the higher you are on the social ladder, the more you can afford to be, the more significant you are.
Killing two birds with one stone.
Telling you that you can purchase survival, and that you can purchase significance. That the more you have not only ensures your survival on a deeper and deeper level, it also ensures your status. Your meaning. Your value.
Part and parcel.
Which by extension means if you CAN'T purchase survival, if you cannot purchase enough to be SIGNIFICANT on the world market stage - then you are NOT valuable.
Are you starting to see how this works?
In our Western Culture, we currently value things like thinness, fitness, nice cars, nice clothes, and followers.
All of these things are representations of wealth.
To be lean and fit means you have the money to afford healthy food, and the time to afford exercise, self care and the like.
Nice cars, clothes and homes means you have enough income to have not only the basics for survival, but far beyond the basics for survival. Thus you have more buying power, and a larger piece of the control of resources pie.
Lots of followers means you have influence over what OTHERS decide to value. What others decide to buy. Thus you have an even LARGER impact on the economy, as you help not only yourself decide where the resources of our planet will be distributed, but you also help OTHER PEPLE decide how they are going to cast their economic vote.
Which means, at the end of the day, if you are looking to be thin, if you are looking to appear healthy, if you are looking to be followed, if you feel like you need a better job, a better relationship, a better degree, a better ANYTHING to feel good about yourself, to feel valuable, to feel like your life has meaning and worth, then you are bought into the system.
If you are trying to define yourself by ANYTHING outside of you - your body included - you are playing the consumerism game.
I want to leave you here, to simply consider what I have put forth. Next Monday I will carry on with how deep the system goes, how we trick ourselves into thinking we are outside of it when we really are not, and how to start to actually break out of it.
<3
