IT’S NOT ABOUT THE STUFF

Published on March 05, 2015

A client told me of a fascinating story that left me thinking a great deal today about our connection to stuff. The story was about a man in the news who has backpacked around the world for the past 10 years. He spent most of his time travelling around third world countries. Amazing in itself and you are likely thinking that this is a great example of living an authentic life.   No doubt it is but that is not the storyline. What is interesting is that shortly after returning home to North America after all those years he found himself in a mall. What struck him was that after only 30 minutes there he was shocked by the sound of children's crying. Small children of all shapes and sizes crying. Most of it came after the standard pleading of "Mommy can I have this or Daddy can I have that?" What struck this man was that in all his years in third world countries, viewing poverty and despair first hand he could not recall hearing the cry of a child. For the most part he said, they appeared happy.
Fascinating then, that here on this side of the world withthe best of everything the world has to offer that our children are forced to tears. I expect beneath the thin veneer facade of adulthood many of us tear up inside when the chosen material possessions of status unfairly elude our grasp. What a great example I thought of how deluded we become, fixating so much on the stuff that we lose sight of what life is about anyway. Its about the experiences in life that we get to have. The emotions we feel. The sense of connection to another or a purpose or mission. I don't expect anyone on this earth ever really wanted a drill. What they want are the holes but they don't sell holes......................and so as a result we just become fixated on wanting the drill. Fix your gaze on the experiences in life that move you. After all, it never really was about the stuff. Have an excellent day 
Be well,
Randy Taylor