Can happiness be bought?
Can our needs be placated if we just find the right products?
Can we go to the www. and find answers to all that ails us?
Is there a tangible answer for all our intangible questions?
Can mystery, imagination, wonderment, love, spirituality, self-esteem, creativity, purpose, meaning, contentment, self-fulfilment, honesty, integrity, respect, et cetera, be bought and put in a shopping bag?
I wonder if we have become so focused on the attainment of "things" and "stuff" that we have little time left over for listening to what our "inner selves" need. Do you find it hard to sit still and just ponder? Every moment when you have to wait; doctors surgery, bus stop, train station, restaurant, standing in-line, traffic lights and so on; do you play-with/use your mobile/cell phone/ipad?
Do you ever turn off everything and just listen to the world you live in? Do you ever just still yourself and wait for your "soul" to catch up?
To our ancestors the world and universe was viewed as huge and there were many mysteries "out there". Today we are investigating if life is possible on Mars since our own planet is getting cramped.
With the help of science and technology we have "progressed" in leaps and bounds; one by one mysteries are solved and the distance between us and "the unknown" is continuously shrinking.
Strangely enough though, paradoxically even, more and more of us are becoming alienated and lonely.
We have invented thingy's that makes it possible for us to always stay in contact with someone 24/7; but is the interface(any kind of screen, big or small) becoming the actual "face" we communicate with?
According to some statistics more and more people are suffering with some form of social anxiety i.e.; feeling uncomfortable, self-conscious and fearful in and of social interactions; which can make communicating/speaking with people face to face fraught with feelings of insecurity and anxiousness.
I recently spoke with someone who told me that he is socially anxious and that he avoids people in general because he doesn't trust them and he feels judged by them. Although, he explained, he feels at ease chatting with total strangers on the net and finds no problem with being honest or open there.
In real life, he has no friends, siblings or co-workers to socialise with, and that's the way he likes it.
I guess for some of us, it is easier to go out and buy an "ithingy" than strike up a conversation, mingle and chit-chat, or join in, but I can't help but wonder if a thing really can replace face to face inter action in the long run? Once we have bought that new car, house, TV, play station, ithingy, and so on, how long does that sense of fulfilment and "happiness" last?
If we are to believe advertising and marketing, then all our needs can be satisfied with a product of some kind, and if our needs still aren't fulfilled, its because we haven't bought the "right" product.
So where do we buy "stuff" to satisfy these human needs(assuming our need for shelter and food and water is taken care of):
Certainty, love/connection/closeness, belonging, meaning and purpose, contribution(a sense of helping others)respect, self-esteem/integrity to mention a few.
Certainty= you can buy a religious/ or any other Text, read it, and then deem it "The Truth", Love/connection/closeness= you can buy a real size "living doll", you can visit a sex worker
Belonging= you can buy a membership in a club
Meaning and purpose= you can buy a membership to a gym
Contribution= you can donate(buy a sense of a contribution) to charity
Respect= you can buy a big house, luxury car, boat, business and some will respect you for having such things
Self-esteem and integrity= hmmmm?
Seems as if it is possible to "buy" things to fulfil those needs.....that is if one ignores the many people who have bought all these and yet do not feel happy. Not to mention all the people who deem them selves as "happy" without having bought any of these "things".
There are people who are happy because they are certain that all will be okay(optimists), that they are loved and love, they belong with their families and friends, they know what the meaning and purpose is in their lives, they help others because they want to, they show respect and is respected in return, they have a healthy self-esteem because they have a positive self-regard and know what they stand for.
"Happiness is when what you say, what you think, and what you do is in harmony."
(Mahatma Gandhi)
"Our greatest happiness does not depend on the condition of life in which chance has placed us, but is always the result of good conscience, good health, occupation, and freedom in all just pursuits."
(Thomas Jefferson)
Without even knowing each other, I believe there exists a common beat between all hearts, and if we still ourselves and just listen, we may be able to connect with
our shared humanity.
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