Materialism & Blessings

Preoccupation with or emphasis on material objects, comforts, and considerations, with a disinterest in or rejections of spiritual, intellectual or cultural values.

If material things are what you’re talking about when you say “I’m blessed”, you have no idea what blessings are.

Unknown Author

What does it really mean to be blessed?  I will be the first to admit that when I think of blessings, I think of my possessions.  I am as materialistic as they come, when someone compliments me, I will be the first to throw the name of the product at them like it makes me more important.  I have no reason to act this way!  I was given a second chance at life and vowed that I wouldn’t fall into the materialism trap again.  I lasted about two years before I boarded the materialism train, bound for destruction, once again.  Materialism is a monster that is not easy to escape and even harder to stay free of.  I have yet to see a brinks truck at a funeral procession.

How do we break our cycle of materialism?  Living a less materialistic lifestyle doesn’t mean you must become a monk and give up all life’s pleasures.  We all buy things to fill something that is missing in our lives, unfortunately this void is to big to fill so we will never be satisfied by things.

How do we create blessings?

• Friends and family
• Community service
• Learning
• Personal goals

The base of all these things is to understanding the world we live in.  Our lives will only be rich once we understand how to make our internal lives fulfilled.

How do we reduce materials?

• Don’t play the status game;  Realize your worth is not an accumulation of things.  Do not worry about what your neighbors have.  Don’t play the game that a persons worth is tied to what possessions they have.
• No brinks truck at funeral;  On your death bed, will your “stuff” matter?  Look back at your life, what was important?  This will help you prioritize.
• Basics;  Simplify, simplify, simplify!  Keep material possessions to a minimum, put your energy into experiences instead of things.
• Pitch it;  Do a major cleaning.  Toss or donate what you haven’t used in a year.
• Challenge yourself;  Materialism fills a void, fill the void with goals and challenges.
• Serve;  Invest your time in other people, this to will fill the void.  Channeling your focus on others will help with the need to purchase things.
• Possessions do not define you; Separate yourself from the things you own, you are not defined by your possessions.

Material things are about getting and having, blessings are about giving and being.

Making of a Minimalist