Fuzz

Since the disaster over Christmas (along with other things going on in my life at the moment) It's put things into a little more perspective..
Why do we as a race crave for "nicer things".
I can understand the want and need for a better existence and to better ourselves but where did this want for big houses, big tv's, big (powerful ) cars, fast computers, the latest gagets....ahh I could go on forever... come from, why do wee need to work 24-7.
Why does my boss think I live to work?


Question,
Would the world really grind to a halt without an Economy ?
Could the world survive without. ??

Andy (bored thoughts)

pslewis

I don't ............... quality of life is better than material wealth and no time to spend it!!

No-one ever laid on their death bed and thought, "I wish I had worked a few extra hours, an extra day or two overtime, bought that new car, that big TV"

No, what they ALWAYS say is, "I wish I had spent more time with my family, my friends and experienced life to the full - the simple things"

Pete

logiclee

Big turn round last year for me as well.

I had a heart attack!

I can tell everyone that when you are laying in that re-sus bed looking at the de-frib machine, connected up to all sorts of equipment the last thing on your mind is work, houses, cars, bank account.

I have definately dropped off the hours at work since I've started back and I'm no longer bothered about the next step up the ladder.

I have nice things at home but I'm happy now to be comfortable, I'm no longer bothered about having the latest hitech gear to impress everyone else.

Yes we need an economy and the human race needs to move forward. Would we want to go back to all being farmers on our own land, no hospitals and the average age being around 40? I don't think so, but then again this modern consumerism is a bit obscene, why do we need to have things that are bigger and better than our neighbours? Why do we need to work 70hours a week and never see our kids, wife and parents?

And another post from Pete I totaly agree with.

Cheers
Lee

Floyd

iTrader: (9)

I agree with old man Lewis, I too am happy to pursue more experiences, family stuff and less purchases. I am bored walking around Comet and seeing all the useless stuff that I don't need. It saddens me to see so many suckers crammed into those stores on a w/e, looking for happiness in the next 'must have' gadget, but all they'll get is buyers remorse and a bigger credit card bill. Fools!

It's all a gigantic con and everyone is falling for it

F

pslewis

The best widescreen TV I have ever seen is sat on some hill/mountain and just spent a few hours looking around .......... widescreen? Its Panarama!!

Nowt wrong with buying stuff to enjoy ....... but all this Plasma/LCD craze is a joke - its a commercial con to get your money!

Pete

Puff The Magic Wagon!

iTrader: (2)

Interestingly the drive to "better ourselves" with gadgets, equipment, big houses, cars & vast amounts of material wealth & money is nothing more than a mating ritual.

We believe that we are more attractive to the opposite sex (or same sex in a PC world if thats your bag ) by the ostentatious display of our wealth, whether it be flashy or "understated".

Big wealth = good breeding potential or the ability to look after and provide.

Very animalistic & very instinctive

mart360

Tell me about it..

bust up with her indoors today..

we "went" looking for a settee today...

oh and a chair as well... why i asked?? the ones we have although are old, still function and arnt leaking stuffing etc..

suffice to say we didnt buy new stuff.. but it makes you wonder..

some of it is a bit carthartic,, you need to buy new to make you feel good, but usually there is a bit of guilt or worry attached

You could go as far as to say its rife on this site...

my 02 ppp high lift cams blueprinted engine uprated shocks defi,s.. etc..

not me incedentally but its there!!!


Mart

BOB.T

And I thought it was just your regular computer shop, is nowhere sacred anymore!

ProperCharlie

Material things make us feel good about ourselves - we've just got to get the balance right. I don't particularly want to be homeless with no more than the clothes that I stand up in. On the other hand I realise that I have enough, or probably far too many, "things" in my life so I now only replace someting when it breaks.

I would rather save or overpay my mortgage with any spare money, than get a new TV or something. Every now and then I think "it would be nice to buy a new car" but the I think "yes but it would depreciate by 20% or more as soon as you drive it off the forecourt, it wouldn't be "new" in a year's time, and it will still only get you from a to b".

Unfortunately my current car broke down (for the first time) this afternoon, so I may have to revisit that particular equation.

type-r-stan

Maslow's Hierarchy of needs. We are mainly stuck in the 'esteem' element.

http://web.utk.edu/~gwynne/maslow.HTM

Explains a lot, we know that our basic human needs will pretty much always be met, e.g. shelter, food & warmth. If you take one of those elements out of a persons experience then the achieving the missing thing becomes paramount in life. we have our basic requirements met so search or something else hoping to find 'happiness' or 'self-actualisation' and we often mistakenly believe that happiness is the lastest gadget/car etc is it... i think it's probably only age and experience that teaches us otherwise, i know it did for me; there was a time a earnt a fair wedge, went where and when i liked and had loads of stuff, saw something i liked and bought it.. but deep down i wasn't happy... i decided to go to university and study psychology; i was skint but i loved it and learnt so much. during this time i had two kids which is a wake up call in itself and said arrive derci to gucci and hello mothercare! but i wouldn't change a thing, now i stay at home and volunteer at my kids school and nursery twice a week and am very happy.... and very lucky indeed..

But in answer to the question yes an 'economy' is necesary - ours is evil one at times but as old as humanity itself .

katrina- mrs stan.

Nicci

Why did I save up for 2 years to get a scoob? yes I wanted something better. I wanted to have some fun and I do.

(even if my mum thinks it is a Toyota)

hades

As mating rituals go, personality, charm etc tends to work better than flash cars, big TV etc, though? I'd think proportionately very few successful marriages are based on possessions.

Maslow's theories (one of several different takes on motivation) certainly have something to them. You let someone have lots of flash gadgets but no food/shelter etc, they won't be that impressed by the gadgets once they're hungy/cold. The other thing though, is that many people are never happy with what they've got, and so always want to take the next step up the hierachy.

davegtt

jealousy? you see someone like a celeb and what they own and you think what you have is normal but you'll always strive for more

RB5-Black

LoL I'd like to see someone in the local club with his Plasma TV on an Iced out chain round his neck

lightning101

We also crave immaterial things - Religion, Sex etc.

Andrew Dixon

Just in the middle of reading Alain de Botton's Status Anxiety at the moment. Has a lot to say about this modern condition and makes a lot of sense to me at the moment.

Like some of the other people who've posted on here I've had an opportunity to reappraise what's really important to me in the last 18 months. I am now a lot happier with a lot less.

TelBoy

Humans are the source of real contentment.

Leslie

PSL is absolutely right. As you get more experience of life you begin to realise that all those material requisites, the over competitive attitude to beat everyone else, the wish for bigger houses, bigger and more powerful cars etc. just to impress everyone else is an awful waste of time when you could be enjoying the simpler side of things which is the real miracle of life anyway.

Les

Brendan Hughes

(What, no apology?)

Drunken Bungle Whore

"Be not so busy making a living that you forget to make a life"

As long as it makes you happy (and it's not illegal or hurting anyone else!) - do it! Some people want material things, big jobs, big promotions etc and others don't - that's what makes the world go around.

I was asked if I wanted to apply for a pretty big promotion at work - my response? I'd rather be married to my husband than my job. Bloke that got the job loves it - but he's away from his wife and family 3 - 4 nights every week. Suits him and that's fine, but it's not for me! (And he's a fab boss too!)

paulr

So Mr Lewis,what is this simple life thats so great,that dispenses with consumerism and materialism,where is it?

Donald Trump says life is a game and moneys just a way of keeping score.Of course in the end wether you have a 330D or a 320D doesnt really make that much difference,and an assh0le with a posh car is still an assh0le but if the desire and challenge of earning (and spending) money is what inspires and motivates you then hey,go for it.

Andrew Carnegie made a fortune(was once the richest man in the world),then gave it all away(380 million in all),and if he had fun and contributed to society then in my book,thats a life worth living.

pslewis

I stood on a stage and delivered this story to about 500 people, I take no credit for the words - but I believe in the sentiment:-

Cindy glanced nervously at the clock on the kitchen wall. Five minutes before midnight.

"They should be home any time now," she thought as she put the finishing touches on the chocolate cake she was frosting. It was the first time in her12 years she had tried to make a cake from scratch, and to be honest, it wasn't exactly an aesthetic triumph. The cake was . . . well, lumpy. And the frosting was bitter, as if she had run out of sugar or something. Which, of course, she had.

And then there was the way the kitchen looked. Imagine a huge blender filled with all the fixings for chocolate cake -- including the requisite bowls, pans and utensils. Now imagine that the blender is turned on. High speed. With the lid off. Do you get the idea?

But Cindy wasn't thinking about the mess. She had created something, a veritable phoenix of flour and sugar rising out of the kitchen clutter. She was anxious for her parents to return home from their date so she could present her anniversary gift to them. She turned off the kitchen lights and waited excitedly in the darkness. When at last she saw the flash of the car headlights, she positioned herself in the kitchen doorway. By the time she heard the key sliding into the front door, she was THIS CLOSE to exploding.

Her parents tried to slip in quietly, but Cindy would have none of that. She flipped on the lights dramatically and trumpeted: "Ta-daaa!" She gestured grandly toward the kitchen table, where a slightly off-balance two-layer chocolate cake awaited their inspection.

But her mother's eyes never made it all the way to the table. "Just look at this mess!" she moaned. "How many times have I talked to you about cleaning up after yourself?"

"But Mom, I was only..."

"I should make you clean this up right now, but I'm too tired to stay up with you to make sure you get it done right," her mother said. "So you'll do it first thing in the morning."

"Honey," Cindy's father interjected gently, "take a look at the table."

"I know -- it's a mess," his wife said coldly. "The whole kitchen is a disaster. I can't stand to look at it." She stormed up the stairs and into her room, slamming the door shut behind her.

For a few moments Cindy and her father stood silently, neither one knowing what to say. At last she looked up at him, her eyes moist and red. "She never saw the cake," she said.

Unfortunately, Cindy's mother isn't the only parent who suffers from Situational Timbercular Glaucoma -- the occasional inability to see the forest for the trees.

From time to time we all allow ourselves to be blinded to issues of long-term significance by Stuff That Seems Awfully Important Right Now -- but isn't.

Muddy shoes, lost lunch money and messy kitchens are troublesome, and they deserve their place among life's frustrations.

But what's a little mud -- even on new carpet -- compared to a child's self- esteem? Is a lost dollar more valuable than a youngster's emerging dignity? And while kitchen sanitation is important, is it worth the sacrifice of tender feelings and relationships?

I'm not saying that our children don't need to learn responsibility, or to occasionally suffer the painful consequences of their own bad choices. Those lessons are vital, and need to be carefully taught. But as parents, we must never forget that we're not just teaching lessons -- we're teaching children.

That means there are times when we really need to see the mess in the kitchen.

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And times when we only need to see the cake.



Finally - Dance Like No-One Is Watching

Pete

Leslie

What do I have to apologise for Brendan Hughes?

Les

Vegescoob

Jackie Collins has said "I've been poor and I've been rich and it's better to be rich"

blueone

We crave material things so we can assimilate into our authentic selves.








Well according to Paul Mckenna we do.

antera309

Thousands of years ago, humans used to routinely challenge rival tribes and fight bloody wars to get their kicks and impress the ladies.

Over the years, this process has evolved into the "My house/car/TV is bigger than yours" contests that govern our lives today!

well, just my theory anyway....

Turbohot

Yes,a big question! Why do we crave for material things?Ambition,lust,greed and desire are the main reasons for all sorts of pain.But we are human beings.And unless we feel the pain of others without shoes, we will keep buying hundreds of shoes knowing that we wont even wear them so much.No harm in satisfying ambitions,lusts and desires to certain limit but when its beyond, its crazy.
We may be here only for once and we should try to achieve everything we want but we must feel responsible to another living life in need and do what we can.And thats what matters to me..........................

Brendan Hughes

(Les... the fact that you agreed with pslewis...)

Leslie

Ok Brendan, yes it is a bit of a stunner isn't it. Bet he is a bit suspicious himself.

Les