The “I Want it All” Attitude… By: Fariha Lakhani
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aterialism is an ongoing chronic delusion that has become a rope strangling our society. Generally speaking, the focus of our lives has become wealth, or what we can buy with that wealth – the next article of clothing, the house, the car, the smart device, etc. All around us, popular media diverts our attention towards certain products or services by deeming their purchase a source of our own comfort, luxury, or an increase in status or fame. We are constantly told that we need to buy some product. And our obsession with acquiring products leads to us wanting more and more, one after another. Eventually, this is the way society works: wealth, fame, riches, social media followers, and admiration equals success. 18 | Noor Magazine II 2020
But why? When we equate material possessions with success, this points to an underlying societal problem: a lack of self-esteem. We are compelled to substitute the gap we feel in our lives by adding more material possessions so we can fit in, or be recognized and remembered. There is definitely an excitement in buying something new and sharing the joy with someone, but isn’t that excitement always short-lived, unless it was a really important purchase? Think about it. The cycle goes something like this – we are dissatisfied with our state of being or mind at a given time, so we buy. We are temporarily happy and satisfied, but then the happiness level drops, leading to another urge to buy something else, and so it continues.
