Empty on a full stomach

in #thoughts5 years ago

I snuck out of the house for an hour and a half to catch a coffee with an old friend. We hardly see each other these days as life has happened, but we used to spend pretty much every weekend together for years, mostly drink or hungover. Those were the days. :)

As she said tonight, now it is two glasses of wine and the hangover lasts a week.

This is the view looking up from our cafe table and it reminds me of a shot out of an airplane window.

I really should get out more.

We had some interesting discussions but one was about the consumer life we are setting kids up for. She was talking about parents buying their kids expensive items of clothing at younger and younger ages as well as providing money with no expectation of work required. Essentially, spoiling children.

I think we are setting them up for a life of debt service as it is like a drug dealer, the first taste is free where the cost arrives later. The problem is that in order to buy later a job is required that can not only service living costs but also provide the luxury items. The feeling that going without those items is suffering is already causing many to go into debt to have them.

It is more than keeping up with the Jones', people identify themselves with the products they own. This means that people live their lives to consume and if they can't, they feel they aren't living well.

Couple this with the constant disconnection from real relationships through technology and I think it is a recipe for dissatisfaction and depression as people feel that their life is missing something - even if that something is just the latest gadget advertised on the side of a bus. A life of longing and when it comes to products, there is an endless supply of new and improved to crave. Consumerism is an addiction and more pervasive than heroin.

Of course, many people think that I am crazy as I have spoken about these things for years. I talk to and hear about a lot of depressed people who feel unfulfilled by life yet also do not go out of their way to work out why. Instead, they look to fill their world with distraction, entertainment and products in an attempt to fill that void.

The consumer life is insatiable and unless one has the means to satisfy every desire, will leave people feeling empty. Perhaps I am wrong but I don't hear many people who love the debt cycle they have become a part of yet, they still find a way to have that new phone, car or holiday.

Taraz
[ a Steem original ]
(after a coffee and slice of pie)

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Thx for the precious Snax! =)
This is a cool cafe window. The building outside looks like a hospital to me though.
The comparison of "drug dealer" here is brilliant, haha.
And this song pops into my head:

Is that your blonde sister? :D

lol... she's pretty, and twice my age, so can I get 200 Snax for her?

and twice my age

at that age, shouldn't I split for 2 of your age? :D

Don't talk like a stingy paedophile please...

lols. I don't know how old she is. 70?

Good guess. Google just told me: "born 3 May 1950". Dang it, even more than twice of my age, so only about 40 Snax left...

I agree they are setting their kids up to fail in life. If someone doesn't understand the value of money what chance do they have. Everything is so out of balance and they don't understand the consequences of going into debt. I stopped my son a while ago from taking out a payday loan and showed him what he was in for.

There are so many "quick loan" services now and most don't have the arithmetic skills to calculate the real cost of the loan. If someone you don't know is willing to give you money to buy stuff, the deal is better for them.

I recall one of my workers owed so much money that he couldn't afford to get to work anymore and his next months salary was already spent. My son hadn't worked out as he thought the interest was over a year and not for just one month. They have a lot to learn.

It happens in Finland too, "the most educated country in the world". What are they teaching and what are they learning?

I have always feared and loathed debt.

It is amazing how many people are comfortable going into it so they can have the latest consumables.

The real tragedy of consumerism is that it is absolutely necessary for people to keep their jobs. And people need their jobs to have resources beyond the bare essentials in their lives and to maintain their self respect. The upside is that it is a mental prison any individual is free to walk out of once they've seen the light.

When I was traveling in Bolivia, the locals told me about the original song of this. There were some legal disputes between them. Check out Los Kjarkas if interested. :) (Feels like I'm trying hard to get a downvote again...) You should have joined our Music Monday of @photogames last year. ;D

You should have joined our Music Monday of @photogames last year. ;D

That sounds like something fun. I am too serious for those kinds of things.

Consumerism is really just another form of religion with the doctrine of "consume and you will find happiness". The real danger with it though is - like you said - when it replaces our attempts to find meaning through relationships, because that is a guaranteed way for self-feeding downhill. Coupled with the notion of "strong independent individual" by individualism, and it certainly doesn't improve the situation...

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Coupled with the notion of "strong independent individual" by individualism

Yep. I am an independent, I can pay for people to do the things I can't do myself....

Perhaps, one of the greatest disservices parents do against their children is the 'debt trap'. It's amazing how children are forced to learn tons of useless info in school; but, most graduate unable to manage a bank account.

The best lesson a child can learn, as early as five, is how to give, save, and spend every dime that enters their hands. And, in the words of Dave Ramsey, "Cash is king" over credit.

Peace.

It's amazing how children are forced to learn tons of useless info in school; but, most graduate unable to manage a bank account.

Yet can name states or rivers or capitals or something like that... but no economics. I think that is telling in itself.

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