Consumerism wants us to aspire to have more. More everything.
Along the way we are supposed to find happiness, which remains elusive as long as there is something else to buy.
In a consumer society, there is always something else to buy.
These 7 Consumerism Busters can help us get off that treadmill.
7 Effective Consumerism Busters
1. Humility
"Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself less."
- C.S. Lewis
2. Restraint
“Maybe the greatest power of all is the power of restraint.”
3. Thrift
"The whole thing of clothes is insane.
You can spend a dollar on a jacket in a thrift store. And you can spend a thousand dollars on a jacket in a shop.
And if you saw those two jackets walking down the street, you probably wouldn't know which was which."
- Helen Mirren
4. Responsibility
“Take responsibility of your own happiness, never put it in other people’s hands.”
5. Patience
“Patience will bring more happiness than power.”
―
6. Sacrifice
“Anything that you cannot sacrifice pins you. Makes you predictable, makes you weak.”
7. Austerity
“A lot of people measure others by what they've got. I've decided to measure myself by what I can give up.”
When we practice these busters, the desire to buy things we don't need goes away.
There are other positive side effects, too, like joy, contentment, satisfaction, and balance.
Consumerism is on the way out, a victim of its own excess, but these things tend to die slow deaths.
With the help of the 7 Busters we can make changes, end the waste, and find our freedom sooner.
Mother Earth thanks us for our efforts, as do the people in non-consumer nations that are negatively affected by our profligate purchasing.
Life shouldn't be only about hurrying to buy more stuff.
When we stop this madness, we can return to the real reason for living - to help each other.
I loved this post.
ReplyDeleteJust today I saw a "news story" that merchants are begging people to buy toys early for the holidays or there will be a shortage later and your poor kids will be devastated. What a load of nonsense! Thanks for showing us why not buying is what brings peace and joy for us and for our children.
ReplyDeleteBoom! You've nailed it with this post. Some of these quotes will make it into my little book of wisdom, including "we can return to the real reason for living - to help each other." That last sentence is probably the main thing that keeps me going during these incredibly challenging times we are living through.
ReplyDeleteMadeleine.