break the Cycle

Consumerism is a social and economic order that encourages the purchase of goods and services in ever-greater amounts. In the 21st century this is especially true when lessons like "only look out for #1" are being taught. People consume, consume and consume while rarely or not giving back at all.

An example is in the case of water. We need fresh water, we consume ever larger amounts of it. Yet we don't give back to the Earth because many people pollute water sources. There's only 1 habitable planet, so resources are limited. The human race is consuming too fast and replenishing too little.

Consumerism links in with materialism where beginning in the 1990s the main reason for attending university is to make big money and not to become an expert in a certain field or to help people in difficulty. Materialism shifts away from community, spirituality and integrity and leads to competition and disconnection.

Social status is now tied to your material belongings rather than your actual self worth. Its a vicious cycle. The poor try to imitate the rich while the rich try to imitate celebrities and so on. Sometimes we buy things we don't need even use solely to emulate people we regard as having "higher social status".

Buying material things is fine, we all need our certain comforts. But at the point where you have to buy something in order to fit in, now there's your problem. Our consumerism also needs to stay manageable and not go beyond what is environmentally-sustainable.

Lone Wolf

You know, sometimes it feels like the most logical for us to do is pack up our things and get lost. As in, to go live in the forest alone or high up in the mountains all monk like. The thing is, its impossible. Humans are social creatures, we need other people to interact with lest we go insane. Overwhelming noise and clutter can drive a person mad and so can dead silence and stillness.

People need other people. Its why we're conditioned to have family and friends. Even the most shy or quiet of people have at least 2 or 3 people whom they consider close. Talking to one self is normal and usual when we contemplate things or are preparing for something but if the only person we talk to is ourself since we are "lone wolves" that is probably unhealthy.

Proof of this is that people are dependant beings. When we are young, we depend on others. When we are old, we still depend on others. Throughout our life we will always depend on others on some level and other people are counting on us as well.

Simply put, even elite commandos need teamwork. Actors who go "one man army" in films are woefully innacurate portrayals of how soldiers really work and doing so is actually frowned upon in the military. For example, snipers who are often portrayed as loners actually function in pairs. And that pair is integrated with another squad of infantry.

So stop thinking about living alone in a submarine and go out and meet people!