Happiness is to be found in how we are, not in what we have…

Off and running for more and for better things– an attitudinal foundation underlying the growing concern for our materialistic nature- especially among our youth- where me is now “me, me”. The dis’ease of our social body is very much related to growing feelings of personal inadequacy and outright discontent- the inner feeling that we just don’t have enough inside of ourselves to sustain. We are challenged by eroding self-respect, and identifying and loving more and more our virtual identity- the one that needs to be and have more- acquiring and amassing things from others- to try and compensate for the inner sense of emptiness of never being good enough.

The things themselves are not really the problem, but it is the emotional charge behind the wanting and grasping- the undertow of impulses- the underlying dissatisfaction- and the “reactionary force” of shenpa. This notion of personal inadequacy is a fixed idea- a construct in our storyline which causes us a great deal of human suffering. In general, the things we constantly want only provide temporary satisfaction as our hearts still remain empty of fulfillment with the unceasingly repetitive cycle of wanting and gratification. With growing abundance and excess, our critical capacities seem to root in our inner being, and thereby causing us to be skeptical about what we are presently enjoying as we cannot avoid the seduction- the addiction to look and grasp for something else… something more- something bigger- something better.

Materialism offers the deceptive promise (i.e. illusion) of greater solidity and prideful “greaterness” than our neighbor. In the process, we are turning away from each other out of fear, and into habitual patterns and addictions of gathering more things for a false sense of self-security. For some, it is increasingly seductive to attain material security only at the expense of the collective well-being. Our eroding base of collective relationship & kinship (i.e. interbeing) with extended family, community, church, etc. is directly related to a decline in the sense of trusting one another. For example, just look at our public perception of government- federal, state, and even local levels- the media, business, and in some communities even our own religious and spiritual leaders. This is a painful irony- our materialistic strategy for wanting “the good life” suggests that our focus to acquire leaves little time or energy for considering the well-being of others. A direction of self-centeredness does bring into question “trustworthiness”. How sustainable is putting our trust into the “things” we acquire?

Practicing awareness & insight is a step to personal & social change- dis’ease of our social body- and the kind of change that is trustworthy and sustainable as it draws from our inner capacity of goodness, gentleness, and generosity- brave heart & steady mind– as well as the freedom to rejoice in the happiness of others. It is through our natural capacity for goodness and generosity- our acts of offering and giving that run against the grain of our habituation to be self-absorbed, selfish, and self-centered. In this Way, our giving to others is a vehicle to let go of our attachments that increase our vulnerability and fear. Our true merit may not be in all the things we collect throughout our lives, but rather in the enrichment we bring to others through our natural goodness and our awakened state of mind (i.e. Bodhi).

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