News—Beginning next week, I will be on a 1 month challenge, writing only about women and their inner world, plus their interaction with the systemic interfaces that we of today. I hope you will join me.
The story of the greatest showman P. T Bartum is a story of rags-to-riches but in an unusual and spurious manner. You would agree with me that this was a story of relentless rise from the depths of poverty to unimaginable heights of achievement on one hand. Barnum's story was also abnormal in many ways. Beneath this impoverished man was a man on a mission for fame.
Barnum wasn't satisfied with his filthy success; he craved for more. The pinnacle of his incredulity didn't calm his nerves for adulation. Barnum's theatrics were cogent, often done ostentatiously to appease to his critics. He had won many hats; he was once a lottery manager, a shopkeeper, a grocery store worker some times. He never tired being this or that, just for his own public praise.
He desired greedily to be everything for the love of his money-making gimmick. In the event there could have been anything to serve up his public displays, he could have done so with extreme notoriety, minus ethics and laced with crass, and falsehood."I had long fancied that I could succeed if I could only get hold of a public exhibition,” Barnum quipped at some point. Then he gambled everything. Then he lost everything. His hunger for public attention was insatiable and it eventually led to his downfall.
It's no longer secret, in today's climate, that we live in a world that's sort of inundated by the achievement-driven culture. We have societal metrics that we measure up against our flawed selves. From academic, cars, family, job to anything, we quantify these things to implore us, to demand more, to do more. It's not bad to have more up our sleeves for ourselves but the threshold of enough is enough comes at a cost.
The Barnum in us isn't new. Ever since the Eve era, humanity has never been the same again. We have been plagued with discontentment, the unquenchable thirst for more than we can be provided with. We are the only species, I guess, that hasn't lived up to its potential despite a pool of super tools. We insist, rather, on obsessing and worrying about the things we don't have and the things we think we should have.
The showmanness, in turn, has undoubtedly been industrialised in the 21st century. We're constantly bombarded with all sorts of advertisements trying to persuade us that what we have is insufficient. If not the smartest car, it's the smartest phone. We are never short of versions of product releases arresting our attention. There is no iota of doubt, however, that these novel things are worthy having for sure. Insanely they complement our everyday ways.
We have incessantly convinced ourselves that we need more money when we feel like what we have isn't enough. Even when we're meeting effortlessly our responsibilities like paying monthly expenses, with extra to drift us through life turbulences for long, our greedy faculties rarely rest. We all have fallen victim, at some point, to lifestyle inflation after, say, a pay rise. The hedonic treadmill means we always seek the next upgrade as soon as we are done with the more we previously desired.
But, never before has the world faced unprecedented excesses combined with widespread dissatisfaction. We ruminate perpetually on what's next and what's not next. John D. Rockefeller once famously posed "How much is enough? “Just a little bit more.” Such is still true today. We just need a little more.
However, we can redeem ourselves from more menacing us. We can accomplish our own things in the acknowledgement that there is more in purposely having less. There is meaningful life in being contented but not complacent with what you have. Covetness is a personal preference, undoubtedly. But minimalism if adopted betters collectivism, preserves resources for others. It's not what you have. It's how you relate to your neighbours, friends, strangers, relatives, and others. It let's you think more of others and prioritize their welfare above your own (but not at the expense of your mental and financial wellbeing).
There is contentment in witnessing the prosperity of the neighbour, unwaning urge to give to the underserved, and living lives unconcerned with too much possessions. My call isn't to imply you to be content with less but to be discontent when your neighbour doesn't have enough needs. I don't mean to lack desire but to earnestly desire the right things. The things that cannot be take away from us. Contentment, in this case, comes from meeting the basic needs of those who deserve our most helping hand.
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I agree with you Edwin, but we can console ourselves that not all humans put greed first, some, like you consider the needs of others over themselves, And as my grandson points out to me as I am raging against the Elon Musk's of this world, we aren't the only greedy animal, squirrels are known to hide away far more food than they could could possibly eat for the winter, and some birds will grab anything bright and shiny top hide away in their nest. They certainly have no use for diamonds, gold, or silver - but then neither do we.
Could you please send the link again to your donation site, I'd like to try again to donate - maybe this time it will work
Yes! Well said! I am currently embracing the less is more motto. We have sent our children off and into the world on their own and we are selling our 2800 square foot home and moving to 800 square feet. I know the big house is a ridiculously large, very American thing but it served us well with 3 children and all of their and our friends as a gathering place for all. The freedom I feel as I’ve had to decide what I had that is actually needed and important and letting go of everything else has been liberating. I have gained so much time back in my life to truly enjoy the important things in my life. So much truth in the more you make, the more you spend when you were doing fine with less. Looking forward to your new series.