Too many messages; too little action.
Truth is, we make everything so complex.
Not just that but this industrial-complex paradigm — the elixir of growth — means that our inner monologue is constantly anxious.
You know what I mean:
who am I?
what’s my purpose?
why am I here?
Imagine living in the pre-industrial world. You sure as hell wouldn’t be chiding yourself for not fitting in, impressing your boss and being so self-conscious. No doubt there’d be a different narrative — for better or worse — but it wouldn’t be shoehorned into a life of more, more, more. Instead, it would be about making the most of what you’ve got.
If only we did that now.
Think about it.
How much stuff have you acquired over the course of your lifetime that you no longer use or have disposed of at the local tip?
What if you stripped it all away, and went back to basics?
Use it or lose it.
One of everything and no more.
No desires.
No credit!
Perhaps then we come alive to something more than the anxiety of not having what we bargained for; but then again, given our hollow lives, it’s just as likely we’ll press our pedal to the metal of needs and wants regardless of the consequences.
Photo by Julian Böck on Unsplash