So Much Stuff and Not enough Substance

An observation if you will - What makes so many of us strive for the conventional?

I've been meaning to see the film "Revolutionary Road" where it depicts "a thriving couple living with their two children in a Connecticut suburb in the mid-1950's. Their self-assured exterior masks a creeping frustration at their inability to feel fulfilled in their relationships or career. " And yet, on the onset they never wanted to live the life with the house and the white picket fence, two kids, and I'm sure there's a dog in it somewhere.

Every time I hear that scenario I think "Stepford wives" and a life from hell. I'm actually incredibly disappointed at how simple we still are. So many of us buy into the house, the stuff to fill the house, the kids, the conventional job, and all the rest of the stuff that goes with it. No thanks.

I mean this with all modesty when I say, I've been ahead of the bell curve with stuff like this my entire life - thus far. I won't get sucked into the propaganda that rules our lives. And if you don't think it's propaganda, then think again, because it is. You see it every day on TV, advertising, marketing .... from where you vacation to what you watch on TV or your computer, to everything you do, every single day. We tend not to think about. Me on the other hand, I think about it a lot.

Having travelled around the world at such an early stage of my life gave me the perspective to see beyond the ridiculousness of, I'd say 50% of our worrying here in North America.

Most of us are at arms length with our life that I feel we're walking around aimlessly waiting for our next set of instructions. Life is difficult, even for those who think they have it all. It takes each and every one of us to decide for ourselves how we're going to carve out our lives. This is no easy feat.

I think certainly with the devastation of the economy and the greater awareness of global and climate change that we're becoming more sensitive and keenly aware that our lives need to change. We need to make more of an effort. By this I think we'll consider things with a little more rigor, and perhaps not be so "stuff oriented" and more "care focused."

At the end of the day you leave all that stuff behind anyways .... what you CAN leave is the lasting memory of you and what you contributed in helping to make this world a better place. It sounds schmaltzy, but I believe it to be true.

All I'm suggesting is that you just think, and think a little more as you're taking another step into life.

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