We live in an age of consumption. We watch TV, surf the internet, drive in our cars, and we are bombarded with opportunities to consume. It makes me wonder if anyone really creates anything anymore.
Recently, I have begun to wonder who all these people are that are buying all of these things. After all, every street is filled with shops, boutiques, retailers, and coffee shops. I'm not shopping there. My wife isn't. But someone, most definitely, is.
Who needs these things? Where do they put them? How do they pay for it all?
Something is keeping those businesses in business. And I suppose, if we really don't need all of these things, what's keeping them in business is our insatiable "want" for what we do not currently possess. Another gadget, or dress, or pair of shoes, or golf club. I don't know if you feel the pull at times, but I certainly do.
It leads me to a question that occurred to me several years ago. "If I could have anything I wanted, anytime I wanted it, would I still want what I want when I can't?"
In other words, how much of my desire for things is driven simply but the sense of absence I feel in not having them. Not their utility and benefit to me. If we all understood this better perhaps we would be better stewards of the resources we have.
Q: What do you want, just because you cannot have it?