Food for thought

An article that zhilei showed me: are we ready for the future?

"Buddha says: stop wanting stupid shit"

Sometimes I think it's so easy to forget to stay grounded, so easy to be influenced by the people around you, to give in to the natural impulse to become 'better' that you forget your principles and scruples. It's also so easy to just give in to temptation and your desires, so easy to just want, want and want more. But somehow this man manages to do it, to resist these natural impulses, despite growing up in a rich family, working in high-level positions, mixing around with the powerful and the wealthy...it's a wake-up call, of sorts. To not get carried away. To learn to be content. It's not easy.

When you really think about it, why do you need a bigger house when you're living so comfortably in the current one? Why do you need to drive a fancier car when the one you have is functional? Why do you need that much clothes? It seems to make so much sense when you think about it rationally like that, but when we look at the shop window displays, when we see the advertisements, when we see how other people are consuming, we just forget. Everywhere we look, something is urging us to consume and over-consume. 

Thinking back to just a couple of years ago, I feel like I'm the same person I was, but I guess if I were to be completely honest with myself, I have changed. Thoughts, perception of things, ideas of how I should live my life, they've probably all changed. Subtly, unconsciously, whatever. I've forgotten some important things, I've gotten greedier. More jaded, less contented, more materialistic.

Attempting to sell my things at the flea yesterday also brought with it several revelations. There are so many people who are frugal. Maybe by choice, maybe by circumstance. You see people standing around and taking a long time to decide whether to buy a dress (brand new and unworn) for $8, when you didn't even take 2 minutes to buy and pay $27 for it on the internet, only to decide you didn't like it when it arrived in the mail. You see people wondering whether $3 for a pair of jeans is worth it. People bargaining their hardest to get things at $3. It is quite sobering (I hope it is for my shopaholic friends too), the way we waste money and spend it thoughtlessly just because we can afford to. I used to think things through a lot more, but these days I'm getting careless. And shopping somehow serves as temporary stress relief, so the amount of shopping increases proportionately to the amount of stress. Which is bad.

Also, IT IS SO HARD TO SELL THINGS. All the effort, energy, etc. it takes so much work just to earn a few measly bucks?! Spending money is easy, but earning it is no joke. And I suck at bargaining you can practically see my will crumble right in front of your eyes if you ever watch me bargain, with aunties especially. They are so...determined. And that is why I barely covered cost. It would have saved me all that trouble if I'd just donated everything to salvation army. But then again, as mummy said, I needed to be taught a lesson.

I shall try to turn zen. No shit.