Why the excess?
It seems like consumerism and the constant need to have more and more is everywhere I look. It’s on TV, on social media, and in the stores (Black Friday, I’m looking at you). So, my question is, why the excess?
What I want
When I was younger, I thought I wanted to be rich, but actually, I just want to be comfortable and not have to worry about expenses. For example, I don’t want to have to put something back at the grocery store because something else is a dollar cheaper. I’m not about glamour, I’m about comfort. And not ‘comfort’ like how super-rich people say they’re comfortable. I just want to be genuinely comfortable. I want to have a bit of savings, pay my bills and not worry if I’ll have enough to hold out until the end of the month.
More than that, I want to help my parents out. They’re both retired now and have little income. I just want to send them money (the exchange rate is very much in their favour) to live life. I don’t want them to put off going to the doctor or dentist because it’s expensive – I don’t want them to worry about money.
Also, I want little in terms of material things. I mostly just want clean, open surfaces in my house. I manage it sometimes, and then sometimes I’m lazy.
Speaking of which (and this is a sidebar), When I see those enormous houses or mansions on TV, I get low-level anxiety because all I see is an enormous house to clean. There’s so much dusting and vacuuming to be done. Yes, I know they have people who do that for them, but I don’t like the idea of having strangers in my house.
Other important things
I’ve wanted to write for the longest time, and I guess I’m already doing it. I always thought I would write more if I had more time, but six months of unemployment have proved me wrong because I haven’t been writing more than when I was employed.
Writing is an escape and I use it to procrastinate, or when I need to do a brain dump (like right now). I love stories, always have and I’m pretty sure I get it from my father’s side.
Also, I wanted to marry my best friend, and I have that. I’m the luckiest person in the world to have found that.
I just wish I had my family and friends (who are like family) here with me. And that’s what moving halfway across the globe has taught me. The fancies and the luxuries lose their shine when the people you want to share them with aren’t there.
It reminds me of a scene in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 where Ego asks Peter Quill (Star Lord) what greater meaning life could have, and Peter has these flashbacks of spending time with family and friends—everyday stuff. That’s really the stuff that matters, isn’t it? From
You can see it below. It’s a long clip, but what I referred to above starts at 01:20.
Lastly
What do you think of consumerism? Are you a fan or not?
Michelle
P.S. If you’d like to contact me, feel free to comment below, send an email to thatmichelleperson@gmail.com, or follow me on Twitter @M_ClutterBox.
Monch Weller
To answer the question about why is there a prevailing narrative of consumption, permit me to borrow that line from Marge Simpson: “It will be good for the economy!”
It’s not surprising, then, that most people are turning to minimalism and almost spartan lifestyles. Experiences trump material things, as they argue.
(Thank you for following The Monching’s Guide, by the way! Couldn’t comment on your About section, so I’ll just leave this here if you don’t mind.)
That Michelle Person
Thanks for reading and commenting 🙂 Yeah, it is good for the economy but I guess we just don’t prescribe to that lifestyle 🙂