Gratitude is the only cure for consumerism
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It seems appropriate heading into Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada to focus on gratitude... I know I have an incredible amount to be thankful for!
That being said, I'm growing more and more convinced about the importance of gratitude during the rest of the year as well. Taking time to pause and recognize that there is always something to be thankful for causes a major shift in perspective and attitude - it shifts the focus from what I don't have and what's not going well to understanding things are never as bad as they seem and there is always a light at the end of the tunnel.
In the midst of that, my 40 for 40 reflection was in reference to the draw of consumerism - something I'm sure I'm not even close to conscious of most of the time. In our teaching at The Meeting House a few weeks ago, we talked about consumerism being the mindset of "give as little as you can to get as much as you can" and I think that's a great definition. As someone who's always loved a bargain, that's totally true - I love to spend as little as possible to get something great. I know that it goes beyond shopping though - it eats into my expectations of how much I have to do, how much I have to put in, even affecting my attitude in approaching community. Whether it's not wanting to pay for TV (or pay as little as possible), how much work I have to do to maintain our house or whether I'm willing to put aside time to invest in relationships, all of it comes back to my consumerist default - put in as little as possible and hope for the greatest return.
What I realized when I put the list together is that the only thing that will help me overcome the double-punch of consumerism that is this mentality coupled with the desire to always want more is to focus on gratitude. If I pause and recognize that I have so much to be thankful for, things change very quickly. Whether it's acknowledging the little things (another day to live, a roof over my head, food to eat, clean water, a job, sunshine) or things that show how very privileged I am (a wonderful family, an amazing community, living in one of the best cities in the world, no fear of persecution, the ability to choose how I spend my time and money), taking a few minutes each day to allow that to sink in directly affects the rest of my mindset. I realize how much I have and therefore I don't need anything else and realistically I hardly want anything else. I realize how privileged I am and therefore am motivated to steward and invest that in the things I'm doing.
Practicing gratitude helps me see the things that really matter and motivates me to not just give as little as I can to those areas, but to realign my time and resources so as much of it can be directed in those areas as possible.
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