Buy Or Be Damned

Many of us spent quite a bit of our lives considering what we want to buy next. There always seems something new available that is a must have gadget. The urge to get this latest product right away might cause us to become involved in the most bizarre behavior. People can queue up for hours to buy the newest game and for a while obtaining this item can become our consuming passion. It is like a part of our brain believes that obtaining this latest fad will be the missing part of the jigsaw; this new phone will be the thing that gives our life real meaning or purpose. The fact is that when we do get our hands on this latest purchase we will be excited for a few days, sometimes only for a few hours, and then begin thinking about the next thing we must have.

Our compulsion to buy new things seems to be insatiable, and the products to feed this hunger are never-ending. Of course some of these purchases can bring some enjoyment or make our lives easier. The iPod is now a piece of technology that has become part of our lives and it is hard to imagine how people managed before the mobile phone. There are a lot of products that are worth buying, but there also seems to be a compulsion to purchase things just for the sake of having something to buy. Many of the things people buy will be quickly forgotten about and will just gather dust despite the fact that for a few minutes, hours, or even months this item was something that we just had to have.

There are those who claim that we do not own our possessions that in fact our possessions own us and that the more clutter we have in our lives the harder it will be. These are people who would urge us to buy less and maybe even give away what we have if we want true happiness. The message here is that the simple times of the past were when we were really happy, and that if we could only return to a more basic way of living the world would be a better place. The problem with this argument is that when you go to areas of the world where life is simpler, and ability to buy things is limited, you just find a lot of people envying those who have more choice.

This urge to keep on buying things seems too hardwired into our brains for most people to ever get beyond it. Despite evidence to the contrary most of us are likely to continue trying to shop our way to happiness. Occasionally one of our purchases will bring us some value; at least for a while anyway. Living the simple life only seems to be appreciated by those who choose it and have the ability to buy what they wanted if they so desired; when our purchasing power is reduced by things outside our control it seems less satisfactory.