living in a commercialized/walmartized world....:)

Hey!!
   Well my biggest challenge so far is trying to pave my way in this over commercialized world.  
     I just recently had an awakening ….. as i was thumbing through the paper I read an ad that a man had 3 TMX elmo's and was selling them for 160.00 apiece….. I threw down the paper in absolute disgust….. is this what our world is all about….??? money  money and more money….. ????  
     I also started to take notice of the world around me…. Why am i applying so much makeup to my face?? why does my daughter at age 4 think she needs to wear makeup like mommy???   Why am i dieting??  Why do i feel the need to purchase yet another cell phone…why do i even need a cell phone….. is it what i want or what i am being told i want??
     So, my vision is to live a consious life… aware of all that I do….  my biggest challenge is not getting discouraged and not giving up!!

Re: living in a commercialized/walmartized world....:)

ya life is hard no matter where and what we do. being conscious of all the troubles is the first step. keep being aware as much as you can, and somehow the problems dont seem so scary anymore. take care

Re: living in a commercialized/walmartized world....:)

This is a difficult subject because we are so caught up in this even without meaning to be.

I don't really want to have people working at Walgreen's on Christmas day, I mean, sometimes people should have the day off you know, and yet, I went out on Christmas day and bought some milk and such at the store, and I was far from alone there.

The market forces cause the store to be open.  If no one went shopping on Christmas Day, the stores wouldn't open.  Without even thinking about it, I perpetuated the cycle myself.  While I was leaving the store, I made kind of a flip comment to my wife “it's all because of our instant gratification consumerism based society that those people have to work today” but you know it's because of me too.

Also, as far as the stupid pre-holiday hype that gets built up around certain toys, the best thing anyone can do is to just not buy that toy.  I don't really understand how all of that got started or even why anyone would participate in it, but it's pretty intensely stupid.  To buy something for many times it's retail value when in just a couple of weeks it will be back to it's regular price is so dumb that it hurts my head to think about it.

Here is a theory that I have concerning all of this pre-holiday mess:  The stores make these outrageous sales for the “Black Friday” and people want to go out and get the cheaper stuff.  But I think that also people go out and rush the stores and act stupid and violent because they feel like that is what is expected of them on “Black Friday.”  It's like kids dress up in costumes and beg for candy door-to-door on Halloween because it's expected, well, now there is an expectation of rampant idiocy on the “Black Friday.”  Even if people get hurt, the stores love it because it generates excitement.  I would expect this to get worse and worse before it ever gets better (if ever).

Just as a side note, I have a similar theory about the “Bridezilla” phenomenon.  Women planning their weddings and on their wedding day think they are now expected to act like complete assholes.  Before it was just women who actually were assholes, but now I think this has become such a celebrated phenomena that women think that's how brides are supposed to act.  I think (hope) that this is just a fad though and it will pass within a couple of years.

It's all about the Hedonistic Treadmill in the end I suppose.  It's just a never ending stream of things you think will make you happy and as you get each one, another takes it's place and you still aren't happy so you just keep on trudging along.  It's like World of Warcraft but in real life…got to get that next level.  It's very difficult to not be caught like this, even if you think you're not or that you are somehow immune.

Anyway, Happy New Year.

Sorry for the rant.

edit:  Don't even get me started on Wal Mart.  I mean, low prices are great and all, but do when did Americans decide it was ok to sacrifice our dignity for the sake of saving a few bucks.

Re: living in a commercialized/walmartized world....:)

ya, no need to apologize. best not to suppress honesty too much. our whole state capitalism is soo messed up inside out.  i think it was supposed to emphasize spending and consumption after the end of world war 2. but now over 50 years later, we're in a different world,  we need to balance the world in the opposite way. conserving resources and learning how to maximize what little we have left.

how 95% of the world's wealth is controlled by 1% by the population is pretty disgraceful to me. thats how democracy and capitalism has rusted away to that kind of greedy ignorance. what to do? well, seeing our wealth as something more of a sense of well being rather than mere material satisfaction. so many people are falling into debt, because even they work so hard they see so little of their desired rewards? what to do? livin like a popper isnt supposed to be the american dream. maybe we start from the ground up and start changing the mindsets of our future bankers by adjusting the ideals in our university economics textbooks, to meet our real needs and concerns. to have more authentic people in power to turn the system on its head, so the people feel more free than controlled. ah this is just a dream way of looking at things, who knows? but if we plant the seeds, with the right care and attention, it'll grow and flourish.


peace and love

Re: living in a commercialized/walmartized world....:)

Yes this is a dream way and a planting of seeds. :)

Walmart, as an example, is a powerful crital mass symbol of materialism, commercialization, monopoly, and loss of small business economy and community spirit. On the other hand, it is successful capitalism which offers the customer a one stop shopping inventory of discounted products.

Hopefully this dream way symbol will serve as an impetus or an enabler for each of us to consciously evolve as responsible green friendly consumers and tip the balance of power.
 
Love and light,

Dave/journeys  

Re: living in a commercialized/walmartized world....:)

Very interesting discussion. I’d like to add to it.

I’m not so sure it’s important what is the so-called distribution of wealth. It is natural that the more advanced, complex forms will be fewer in number than the less advanced. Think the number of bacteria in the world vs the number of humans. Humans, although far fewer in numbers, hold much more of the intelligence in the world.

And yes, I am implying that the holders of the wealth ARE in SOME WAYS more advanced than the poor. They have mastered some very important abilities to create and control value. We definitely need more people in the world who can do that, despite our jealous feelings, criticisms and righteousness about rich people. Even many of those who simply hang on to and use wealth that others have created have some special and important abilities. Our goals should be to have more people learning to create wealth, and for more of them to do it consciously with openness and concern for the impacts on others.

I agree that it is actually us, as consumers, who control a lot of the wealth distribution.

And also I completely agree that if we broaden our definition of wealth to include well-being, we can really make progress. Those who have mastered the ability to generate wealth AND well-being for themselves will be more conscious beings. It is our unconscious, primitive internal pains that lead us to insensitive, foolish and even violent behaviour. Our insecurities lead us to make foolish purchases following the crowd. Our fears lead us to horde money or attack those with more than us.

The American dream (the world dream?) is about the pursuit of happiness, not money. Happiness transcends (and includes) money. Our best way, I believe, is to continue to consciously pursue happiness. Not so easy? We can support each other and stay on it. It helps to increase your awareness of the difference between your conscious, rational desires and your unconscious, irrational hurts and fears. This is the difference between pursuing true happiness and just following the ‘Hedonistic Treadmill’. Does this make sense?

Would love to hear your disagreements, corrections or just your own words for what I’m talking about.

Love

Re: living in a commercialized/walmartized world....:)

Well, finally I get down to talking about one of my favourite issues (haha). I've always been poor so I don't have all that much sympathy with those out there who say that it's my own fault and I should give out more energy to receive more and that financial success is  sometimes a measure of spiritual success. I did have ideals about becoming rich or at least comfortable and succesful when I was young. I had a lot of talent. But my body couldn't keep up with the speed of my mind, nor with the way things really are out there in the world either, for that matter. I believe I became ill because I was so emotionally empoverished as a child, and that's because my parents had not learned to be radiant and hearfelt beings.

We didn't have much money either, so maybe I'm just so used to it that I can't generate it. But the bleak truth about my own condition is that I don't have energy to spend to become succesful. I really can't, because the body is not up to such a challenge. Do you healthy people have any idea what it means to be ill? Probably not. That's why I get crap from the doctors too.

Anyway, I think we need to address the fact that the world is so unfair and that there is no real concept of equality out there. Even New Age people often tend to be elitistic and think that well, if you need a seminar then sure you can generate the money, money is just energy and it just comes to you if you affirmate enough. Who cares that we're talking thousands of dollars? I know this is partly a true statement but it's also dangerous because it can create more barriers between people when people are supposed to be One - no? Everything is so chaotic and people are desperately trying to entertain themselves so that they don't have to be aware of the misery in theirs or other people's lives. Because if you look deep inside, you see emptiness. It's pretty scary for most and why should they bother anyway?

It's probably best to look at the hysteria and realize that we are part of it too, as Michael said. yes I do crave for all kinds of beautiful objects and a nice house where I can feel safe. We need to feel safe, it's a reality, and I don't think you can just go out there and tell people that the safety comes from within and you could live in a tent in the street if you wanted to. I really think this is a really, really scary place where even children are affecting each other's cravings and creating a want for more… at least it wasn't quite so bad when I grew up in the 70's. It's normal for children to want things but none is able to restrain the needs anymore. I guess all one can do is to try and find a balance somewhere in the midst of all this mess. I believe the Buddhist idea of the “middle way” usually helps to think more wisely about life.

Re: living in a commercialized/walmartized world....:)

I just felt like adding that you cannot always fix everything right away by the power of the mind only. I think life is too complicated for a “quick fix”. I've wanted all kinds of things in my life and I think I had the power of the mind to get it, but I still didn't. Why? Maybe my soul didn't want me to! Maybe my needs are different than those navigated by the ego. I also would like to say that affirmating yourself to success can be good but it can also be an ego-trap, where you are only obsessing more than ever about what you think you need and want. Let's stop obsessing so much about what we should have or shouldn't have, any relaaaaax….