Love life, not possessions......

We are all in love with stuff —Clothes, phones, houses, ipods etc etc

but….why are we not in love with life?

Modern societies obsession with owning “things” has become an obsession, competition and its unhealthy. When we arent happy or need to fill a void, we buy things. When we have problems, we buy things. As technology progresses things become more and more expensive and more time consuming to have. How many people spend hours of their day on their iphone instead of talking to those around them?

This obsession with stuff leads to clutter … but having the latest phone or pair of shoes doesn’t really sort anything out.

It may leade to debt, from buying so much. Financially, we’re worse off than ever, because of this obsession with buying stuff.

We buy things when we’re depressed, we buy things for others to show how much we love them … and in this way, stuff has separated us from actually dealing with our emotions, blocked us from truly connecting with others. Of course it is nice to get something new or treat a loved one but its important to ask yourself one question….What are my motives behind this purchase? Is it to apologise? Make myself feel better? What?

What do you want to do?

Let’s replace that lust for stuff with a lust for life!

Get outside and feel nature. Or get active, do something different once a day, play a sport, go for a walk, take a hike, go for a swim, ride a bike.

Instead of buying someone a gift take them somewhere. Think of an experience you can give them. Something other than everyday. An experience is much more meaningful and memorable than any object. When you think of someone you don’t think of the jacket they bought you, you think of the things you do/did together.

Deal with your emotions. If you have a need to buy things, to shop when you are having emotional issues, be more aware of this. Then deal with the underlying emotions, rather than using shopping as a way to forget about them. If you’re depressed, or anxious, or lonely, deal with those. Find solutions, figure out what’s causing them. Good news: experiencing life, getting active, and connecting with others should all help you deal with those emotional issues.

Disconnect your attachment to stuff. Sometimes I find myself reluctant to give something up, even if I don’t really use it. And that’s when I ask myself, “Why?” What is holding me back from getting rid of this possession? Sometimes, the item has an emotional connection, but then I realize that it’s just an object, it’s not the emotion or the actual source of the emotion.

Realize that life, not stuff, is what matters. Objects are just objects

— if you lose them, if they get stolen or destroyed … it’s not a big deal. They’re just objects — not your life. Your life is the series of moments that is steaming through your consciousness right now, and how you use those moments and what you fill them with is what truly matters, not what you fill your home with. In the end, you’ll look back and remember your experiences, the people you loved and who loved you back, the things you did and didn’t do. Not the stuff you had.

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