How Materialism Stole Christmas
It’s that time of year again, a time to sing merrily around the Christmas tree, indulge in your favourite treats, create memories and show love to one another.
However, I can’t help but wonder, what will the world try to make me believe this year?
Every year there seems to be a pressure to make Christmas a materialistic event. The way to show love is to buy more and spend more. Despite the pressure to consume and conform to societal norms, is materialism really the answer to connection, love and fulfilment?
Around Christmas we are dazzled by advertisements of shiny new mobile phones, fancy beauty appliances, the latest gadgets and so on.
We will be happier once we get these things, because what we are told is always true, right?
A little voice in my head used to say, of course they will make you happier, the mobile phone will make you more connected, the beauty appliance will make you more beautiful and the gadget will make you feel more accepted.
But where did the little voice originally come from? It got me thinking about the years of conditioning I have experienced from the media, advertisements and the material world.
While conditioning is not inherently bad, I have found that challenging the conditioned mind is often a liberating experience, and the result... mental freedom!
The truth is, I have realised that this is an illusion sold to us by the materialistic, consumerist society we live in.
Let’s take mobile phones for example, you open the present on Christmas day and experience a rush of dopamine. Just like the hedonic treadmill, fluctuating like a yo-yo, you feel short term bursts of happiness and pleasure.
Whilst this is satisfying in the moment, why do we always want more? What happens when the mobile phone is old or broken?
Can the mobile phone really satisfy our need for connection if it is lacking in our personal life?
Because if the advertisements were true, why do we still feel disconnected and lonely when the dopamine rush crashes. Something must be missing!
Do I repurchase and consume more to fill the void through external gratification? Or is there a way out this vicious cycle I like to call the ‘Materialism Trap’?
Ironically, it was the materialism trap which helped me escape the cycle. I realised that the desire for more was just an unmet need crying for attention.
Materialism is a plaster, and instead of continuing to believe that the plaster heals, I recognise now that the plaster is a symptom of a deeper wound. The focus should be on things that heal the wound, not cover it.
The key for me was to become aware of these desires and explore what my inner world was searching for.
As humans, we are highly social beings and I realised what I truly need is to fulfil my deeper psychological and emotional needs by forming deep bonds with others. By this I mean spending quality time with loved ones and appreciating the gift of presence, not presents. I have come to realise that the moments we share with people deepen bonds with others more than a gift ever could.
This Christmas I am taking a stand and escaping the trap of consumerism and will focus on my internal world to provide a steady sense of wellbeing. And with fewer gifts, I can leave a lighter footprint on the planet this Christmas too! Not only do humans need genuine love and care, but animals and the planet deserve a helping hand too.
