Yesterday evening I sat talking with my brother and we were reminiscing about our childhood, where we would rush on a Saturday morning armed with our pocket money to the local newsagents, Hewitt’s, and spend the lot on multi-coloured sugar treats like Black Jacks and Tutti-Fruitis.
Then hurry home for a morning of children’s TV programmes, that were occasionally interrupted by commercials.
We’d look on in awe at all the stuff advertised, clearly aimed at us, so that we would pressure our parents into why we needed an ‘Evel Knievel’ stunt bike.
The thing was we were living through the growing and ever worsening consumerism, whereby we were all being brainwashed into thinking happiness came from buying bigger stuff.
My brother and I loved Lego, each time we saw the ads for Lego sets we had that feeling of WOW!! shortly followed by a wash of disappointment we felt when we remembered how inadequate our small biscuit tins of Lego pieces were, not a set in sight.
So we were always looking for a bigger Lego set and trying to convince our parents, well normally trying to guilt them into purchasing one.
The problem in life is once you get the bigger set, you find out that happiness is always drained when you discover that there is always a bigger one that you don’t have.
Be happy with what you have already, bigger isn’t better and it will never enhance your happiness.
Focus on people, activities and meaningful things, not on stuff.
Philip Dodson 