I wrote this note just over a year ago, something just made me read it again today. Thought I might share it again :)
What is materialistic?
Being a very spiritual person, I can understand it when you say things like
' I lead a spiritual life so I have no need or desire for money'
'Its greedy to want more money, I can manage with what I have'
'Im not materialistic, I'm spiritual'
So lets look at these statements from a different aspect.
If you have no desire for money and you live in or near the poverty level, how can that be a good thing? And if you have no desire to improve your living circumstances, think about this...... how many times do your kids ask 'can i have this' can I have that' they tell you that all their friends are going on the school trip and you never have any money so I can't go. You constantly tell them things like 'well you can't have everything you want' ' I would love for you to go but I can't afford it' 'people like us don't get to go to places like that'.'Only rich people can go on holidays like that' ' we come out with every excuse under the sun why they shouldn't go on the school trip.
Now wouldn't it be nice if your child asked you 'Mummy/daddy... there is a school skiing trip in a few months and all my friends are going and I would really like to go to' and you could reply 'Of course you can go, I think its fantastic that you are having the opportunity to experience an exhilarating ski trip, and so lucky that you can go with your friends too' Just imagine the look of excitement on their face when they realise that they CAN go on an exciting adventure, because YOU can afford to send them.
Now ask yourself, why is it materialistic to want nice things for your family, I mean, the whole concept of 'life' is for us to enjoy it and be happy, isn't it?? I know we don't need money to help us smile, but it sure does help! its that naughty word 'money' that scares us, generally, we as a society feel greedy & selfish if we want material things, from a spiritual point of view, I believe that is wrong.
I understand that happiness come from the love we share, having family around us and such like, but it can be so much more than that just with a different attitude. Write a list of things that feel good, something like..
I love to see the excitement in my Childs face when they experience new things.
I love the feel of silk against my skin
I love to feel the sunshine warm my skin as i listen to the waves gently lapping onto the beach.
I love the feeling of looking good in my clothes, I like to feel the quality, I want to look good
I want to go horse riding with my children, I enjoy sharing their excitement.
I love to surround myself with nice things... things that make me feel good.
I want to feel the excitement from my family when we are going on a fantastic vacation/holiday
I like the way my feet feel when I wear proper fitting high quality shoes
Right down to the simple things like, (and this one might make you laugh) Izal toilet paper, who remembers that?? do we use it? NO, we use a more luxurious loo roll.... BECAUSE IT FEELS BETTER, its softer on your skin. You could save lots of money over the years if you use Izal, but you don't, so why do we scrimp on other things that make our lives that little bit better? because we are scared of being classed as 'materialistic'
Being a very spiritual person, I can understand it when you say things like
' I lead a spiritual life so I have no need or desire for money'
'Its greedy to want more money, I can manage with what I have'
'Im not materialistic, I'm spiritual'
So lets look at these statements from a different aspect.
If you have no desire for money and you live in or near the poverty level, how can that be a good thing? And if you have no desire to improve your living circumstances, think about this...... how many times do your kids ask 'can i have this' can I have that' they tell you that all their friends are going on the school trip and you never have any money so I can't go. You constantly tell them things like 'well you can't have everything you want' ' I would love for you to go but I can't afford it' 'people like us don't get to go to places like that'.'Only rich people can go on holidays like that' ' we come out with every excuse under the sun why they shouldn't go on the school trip.
Now wouldn't it be nice if your child asked you 'Mummy/daddy... there is a school skiing trip in a few months and all my friends are going and I would really like to go to' and you could reply 'Of course you can go, I think its fantastic that you are having the opportunity to experience an exhilarating ski trip, and so lucky that you can go with your friends too' Just imagine the look of excitement on their face when they realise that they CAN go on an exciting adventure, because YOU can afford to send them.
Now ask yourself, why is it materialistic to want nice things for your family, I mean, the whole concept of 'life' is for us to enjoy it and be happy, isn't it?? I know we don't need money to help us smile, but it sure does help! its that naughty word 'money' that scares us, generally, we as a society feel greedy & selfish if we want material things, from a spiritual point of view, I believe that is wrong.
I understand that happiness come from the love we share, having family around us and such like, but it can be so much more than that just with a different attitude. Write a list of things that feel good, something like..
I love to see the excitement in my Childs face when they experience new things.
I love the feel of silk against my skin
I love to feel the sunshine warm my skin as i listen to the waves gently lapping onto the beach.
I love the feeling of looking good in my clothes, I like to feel the quality, I want to look good
I want to go horse riding with my children, I enjoy sharing their excitement.
I love to surround myself with nice things... things that make me feel good.
I want to feel the excitement from my family when we are going on a fantastic vacation/holiday
I like the way my feet feel when I wear proper fitting high quality shoes
Right down to the simple things like, (and this one might make you laugh) Izal toilet paper, who remembers that?? do we use it? NO, we use a more luxurious loo roll.... BECAUSE IT FEELS BETTER, its softer on your skin. You could save lots of money over the years if you use Izal, but you don't, so why do we scrimp on other things that make our lives that little bit better? because we are scared of being classed as 'materialistic'
Now have a think about this.. Is it materialistic to want to feel good? NO !! Its just the society today that means we need to have money to surround ourselves with these things. So if we have more money, we can have nicer, more luxurious things for ourselves and our families, things that make us feel good, things that make us feel happy, things that make us SMILE.
If you had the choice (and we all do) would you take your family on their annual holiday and money was no object, now this is for people living in UK, would you choose to take them on 'Sun newspaper' special offer holiday at £8 each... to a run down caravan in Grimsby /Skegness/ Southport/ Rhyl ect where it would probably rain all week and you don't want the kids in the sea because its so dirty & full of chemicals or would you choose a luxurious villa in the Caribbean , with guaranteed sunshine and endless white beaches and they can swim beautiful crystal clear oceans. If neither of these holidays were to cost you anything, which one would you choose, be very honest... If you choose any of the first 4 places I mentioned, you may as well stop reading this now. For those of you who chose the latter.... Congratulations, you choose the one with the biggest 'feel good' factor, so read on
Did you feel like you were being materialistic by choosing the Caribbean? NO, because money was not an issue when I asked the question. If we can take the belief that 'wanting money is unspiritual and materialist' away, surely we would all want to do all the dream holidays, have a car that enjoyable to drive, have a home that is actually big enough to fit your whole family in without having to share rooms, have a garden big enough to have a huge oak tree in it, maybe with a couple of rope swings, enjoy the good health that a positive attitude brings.
Here is another example. I have ALWAYS wanted a huge old tree in my garden. that's not materialistic is it! trees are part of nature, they grow freely, however, to have a huge oak tree, you would need a rather large garden. Now large gardens like this are more often than not adjoined to rather large and expensive properties. So this becomes an issue to 'non materialist ' people, as they can't/won't/ think that its ok to pursue the high priced property, when in effect, they are denying themselves something that they really want, which is the tree. Instead we should be allowing the things we want, the things that make us feel good, if they cost lots of money, change your attitude and allow your self the chance to go out and get it. Just don't focus on the amount of money its going to cost, focus on what the end result will be, which in this case is just a tree. with the right attitude, everything will fall into place.
If you could take a little time now to write down all the things you want in your life, imagine that there is no such thing as money, you can do whatever you want, go wherever you want, have whatever you want, don't forget that money doesn't even come into it, in this experiment it doesn't exist. Remind yourself of all those childhood dreams you used to have, places to go, people to meet, places to see. The world is your oyster. Are you living your dreams are you denying yourself the pleasure?
Please follow this up by telling what your dreams are, post them up here, tell the world
Thank you for reading this, I hope it has given you a different perspective on the word 'materialistic'
Live your life with a happy smile, and good things will just come to you
have a great day
Alison x
If you had the choice (and we all do) would you take your family on their annual holiday and money was no object, now this is for people living in UK, would you choose to take them on 'Sun newspaper' special offer holiday at £8 each... to a run down caravan in Grimsby /Skegness/ Southport/ Rhyl ect where it would probably rain all week and you don't want the kids in the sea because its so dirty & full of chemicals or would you choose a luxurious villa in the Caribbean , with guaranteed sunshine and endless white beaches and they can swim beautiful crystal clear oceans. If neither of these holidays were to cost you anything, which one would you choose, be very honest... If you choose any of the first 4 places I mentioned, you may as well stop reading this now. For those of you who chose the latter.... Congratulations, you choose the one with the biggest 'feel good' factor, so read on
Did you feel like you were being materialistic by choosing the Caribbean? NO, because money was not an issue when I asked the question. If we can take the belief that 'wanting money is unspiritual and materialist' away, surely we would all want to do all the dream holidays, have a car that enjoyable to drive, have a home that is actually big enough to fit your whole family in without having to share rooms, have a garden big enough to have a huge oak tree in it, maybe with a couple of rope swings, enjoy the good health that a positive attitude brings.
Here is another example. I have ALWAYS wanted a huge old tree in my garden. that's not materialistic is it! trees are part of nature, they grow freely, however, to have a huge oak tree, you would need a rather large garden. Now large gardens like this are more often than not adjoined to rather large and expensive properties. So this becomes an issue to 'non materialist ' people, as they can't/won't/ think that its ok to pursue the high priced property, when in effect, they are denying themselves something that they really want, which is the tree. Instead we should be allowing the things we want, the things that make us feel good, if they cost lots of money, change your attitude and allow your self the chance to go out and get it. Just don't focus on the amount of money its going to cost, focus on what the end result will be, which in this case is just a tree. with the right attitude, everything will fall into place.
If you could take a little time now to write down all the things you want in your life, imagine that there is no such thing as money, you can do whatever you want, go wherever you want, have whatever you want, don't forget that money doesn't even come into it, in this experiment it doesn't exist. Remind yourself of all those childhood dreams you used to have, places to go, people to meet, places to see. The world is your oyster. Are you living your dreams are you denying yourself the pleasure?
Please follow this up by telling what your dreams are, post them up here, tell the world
Thank you for reading this, I hope it has given you a different perspective on the word 'materialistic'
Live your life with a happy smile, and good things will just come to you
have a great day
Alison x
http://alisonsark.co.uk ~ Acts of Random Kindness
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