Wednesday, May 25, 2011

On the Basic Necessities

Recently my daughter and I were looking at the prices of things in 1957. Did you know the average rent was $90/month? The cost of a stamp was 3 cents! And a gallon of gas was....wait for it....24 cents! Fast forward 50 years and we're at $800, 46 cents and $3.79 (respectively.) Yikes!


Subsequent to this mortifying discovery, conversation ensued about why things were so cheap back then. And it really got me thinking. Inflation, in my opinion, is just an excuse for somebody to make more money. (You don't have to agree with me, this is just my opinion.) I mean, we are currently the most technologically-advanced society in history. We have automated just about everything. Shouldn't things be getting CHEAPER to produce?


I think, overall, they are. But we, as a society, have basically said we'll pay whatever is necessary to have the latest and greatest. And this snowballs back to the producer who, instead of finding an opportunity to pass on savings to the customer, sees this demand as a means to increase their profits.


At what point do we say, "enough is enough?" Certainly, inflation has to reach a point where it is no longer beneficial to raise the price of something (I'm sure there are statistics and data and research and studies with this kind of info but you're not here for that.) Why aren't we there yet?!?


Truthfully, all we really need in life is food, water, shelter, oxygen, and to love and be loved. People for thousands of years survived without laptops and iPads and video games and the DVR. Please don't misunderstand me. I don't say that to guilt you into thinking, "Oh, great. This crazy gal thinks I'm greedy and I should sell all my stuff." I don't mean to imply that's the solution. (Believe me, I've got STUFF! My house is busting at the seams with STUFF. Sometimes I can't see past all the STUFF!) I say that to simply point out that, at our core, we really were created to only need and desire the basic necessities. Everything else is a bonus.


What is it about us that our happiness is measured by such unnecessary things? Is all our extra stuff, and the desire for more of it, truly making us happy at our core? Or is it causing more trouble in our lives and relationships than we want to admit? Are we forgetting the true reason we were created?


People around the world thrive with just the basic needs of life. They have so much less than we have. Ultimately, deep within, I think they are happier. They have an unparalleled gratefulness that we should long to emulate. The smallest things in life bring them great joy. But what is our wellspring of life?


What would it look like if we threw out our desires for anything that doesn't fall into one of those basic-necessity categories? How happy might we be if we changed our paradigm to just being content with what we already have? What would happen if we put our focus on helping others meet their basic necessities rather than when the next next generation of a gadget is scheduled to be released and how we're going to get it?


I'm confident the more we have, the more we want. But the less we have, the happier we truly are.


What about you?


Go find your spring.

1 comment:

  1. We have so much "stuff" and clutter that we can't even hang our clothes in our closet without everything about to explode! I just took 4 big trash bags full of clothes to Good Will this week and I plan do continue to purge each week until we have LESS. You're right, so many live happy lives with just the necessities.

    I look forward to meeting you. Isn't the informational meeting this summer?

    Hope you'll come visit my blog sometime.

    Bless you!
    Beth

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