Consumption of Everything

Everything has started after the Industrial Revolution. The main idea was: ‘Produce more, consume more because you deserve it’.

To produce more, specialists were needed. More specialist, more quality and of course quantity. As long as we produce, we consume.

Everything had started to focus on ‘more’ and ‘better’. Not only properties, items we have but also people, children.

I don’t know how it was before Industrial Revolution. Probably, life was harder with many challanges but I am pretty sure that they were not so confused and distracted as we are. They didn’t have much information about world. (even about the out of their town). There weren’t so much connection, transportation. Therefore, they weren’t suffering lack of move and they weren’t wishing for another place, another life style as much as we do. Probably, life was quite simple: live- survive-die. Differently from today, live-survive-die was not depressing for them because it was the same for everyone they know.

It may be a fantasy but I think all ancient people were using time better than us because they didn’t have a ling to do list and also they weren’t spend much time with distraction. Everything was mystery. They weren’t spend much time on education and career concerns. Furthermore, they had more time with their selves.

Today everything is different. We know everything from everywhere. We are far from our borders and limitations. There is continuous information flow which we cannot deal with. Even while you are reading this sentences, you receive many unnecessary words and information. Thousands of information during day makes our minds busy and we are not even aware of that.

Isn’t it interesting? So many information around and our brain doesn’t have capability to deal with it. Who knows? It might be the evolved defense mechanism of our brain to adapt this century. However, I think opposite. Emergence of psychological diseases and depression shows that we cannot really deal. The worst of it is, we are getting away from our selves. We need to cross big mountains made by bunch information (or trash mountain)

Let’s go back to topic of consumption. We have begun to consume goods, clothes, furniture, technological stuff, food and so… This wasn’t enough for us because we always deserve better. So, we started to consume nature. We made buildings everywhere, summer houses, hotels, clubs… In the end, we started to consume everything. Can you imagine that we only consume during the day? We get inputs and no output at all.

This is the main reason of our suffer, our depression and low mood. This is the reason of unstoppable noises in our head because we have created and keep feeding a big trash in our brain. Everything in nature has two ways but we use our heads only one way. This is the most basic reason of discomfort which was invented after the Industrial Revolution. It doesn’t matter for us anymore what is good for us. All is about what is good for the system which was bult on machines not humans.

Think about your everyday life!

You wake up and take a shower. (consume water), you drink coffee, have breakfast, read newspaper. When it is time you are going to work. You receive many information and try to make something useful from them. You feel like you create something but actually you just feed the system because you know that you are easily replaceable. All you do is to create new consumption ways for others.

You receive so many information during day and after 8–10 hours you say that you mind is exploding. You are tired, you cannot work anymore and done. If you are active person, you still have some energy inside. If not, you just go home, have dinner, drink something, watch something and done. Day is over.

If you are active, you go for sport which is good and this is the reason of your activity. You receive energy from nature and giving it back by using machines. Then/or you meet friends, go to some events, go to shopping…

See! After work you keep consuming events, drinks, machines.

How about holidays?

You are going on holiday and you keep consuming. You consume places, views, experiences. You take photos and while you are doing that you miss many things around. You miss people, interesting spots, experiences. You don’t live the moment because all you want is to say ‘I was there’. Most of us even don’t know anything about the life style there because we focus on photos, must-see places, GPS, taxi and using time as full as possible. So, we actually do not live the moment but we consume the moment.

How about social interactions?

We consume our selves as well as others. If you have already notice, our everyday routine has no self time. Whole day passes with escaping from ourselves. Yes, there are people who has self routines and you see that those people are more balanced and pleased with their lives. However, it is not also the solution, just creating a space for yourself.

I said that we consume ourselves and others. How? We expect a lot, we create goals and we use all our energy to achieve that goal. What about the goal itself? How can we be sure that it is actually our wish?

For example, I made a survey once with two questions.

1. Do you feel happy to go to work on Monday?
2. Would you do the same work if you have no concern of money?

Answers was far ahead negative. Nobody likes their job. Nobody is happy with 5 days work, nobody would do anything if they have money from air. There are few people who answered positively but when I talked with them it was similar also. Most of us shape our dreams according to options and environment. Most of us are dreaming about other’s life.

Once I met with a famous musician. He is a kind of rock star and having stages in popular places with hundreds, thousands of fans. We met in the bar on the break of concert. He told me that he wouldn’t go to stage at all if he doesn’t need money. It was surprising for me. He said that he love music but not to be have to do something.

There are many examples like that. Also about art. We see successful examples and envy their life styles. Art is an expression of self and for centuries it was the similar. However, today art is something different. Copy of each other. Art has concern to be liked. Many people who define their selves as an artist have no income or low income. They do something but it is just copy. They are not aware of that, they are consuming also. They consume their talent, they consume other art works which are their goal. When you talk with this unsuccessful artists, they tell to you the same. I wish my life would be different or I am not for this society.

Depression, burnout is everywhere.

We consume our social relationships. It is becoming superficial all the time. We have this social interactions not to know the person but to feed our needs. We consume people for sexual needs, social needs. We are afraid of being alone because so far from ourselves. We consume people to feed our feeling of love, confirmation, belonging. All we need is to not stay alone with ourselves because all inputs create noises in our head and it is choking us.

This is probably the most lucky period of entire history. We have everything and we are free. On the other hand, we are the unluckiest ones. Because we expect for return. When we look at a good view, we expect peace, happiness. We even try to consume it without knowing that we are very far from it.

We seek happiness, peace, pleasure, goodness… We consume our lives by seeking better instead of accepting ourselves as it is.

How far we go away from ourselves and the nature, we get that much stress. How far we go away, that much the life, we live like a theater play, chokes us.

The wall of the stage gets closer, gives us less space and even fall on us.