There's a video clip from the Conan O'Brien Show circulating around Facebook. The comedian Louis C.K. talks about how we have the most amazing quality of life and still no one is happy. (Watch it here.) It's a really funny clip with a great message. But the problem is not just that we're all spoiled, self-indulgent and ungrateful about the miraculous technology all around us. The problem is believing that this stuff will ever make us truly happy to begin with. What makes it hard is that "stuff" is so cheaply and easily available to our culture. Haven't we all gotten these rushes of what seems like happiness from the newest acquisition? Our children are mired in it. We are "in love" with our i-Phones or Priuses, or our child "needs" the newest Webkinz. But then the "thing" breaks, or you don't get service, or you just get bored, and, like with any high, you crash, and the "thing" that brought you joy now brings you disappointment and pain. And it's back to "regular" life. So maybe you buy the newest thing and get back on the roller coaster. It's hard to escape this cycle. We are bombarded all the time with the message that shopping will make us happy. After all, in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy of 9/11, our President's message to us was to go shopping. And now, we are being urged to go shopping to save our economy. But ultimately, that cannot be the answer. To paraphrase Lama Marut, among the most revolutionary actions we could take in a society like ours is really no action at all. Just stop. Don’t buy any more stuff. Remind yourself that the "stuff" won't make you happy. Just be content.
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