I despise materialistic people.
Quite in your face right? Well that is the truth. If you asked me this question at the beginning of this year, my opinion would not have been as strong and I would have put my hands up for being guilty of being quite materialistic. However, over the past 10 to 11 months, following the wider reading I have done, putting that reading into practice and generally just taking time to observe what people describe as happiness, my thinking and priorities in life have changed for the better.
My happiness is not defined by gifts, fancy cars or dinner dates, branded items of clothing, etc – these are short term perks; spikes of adrenaline for short term excitement and thrills. On the contrary, my happiness is defined by me working towards my goals in life, spending time with those I love best doing things I genuinely enjoy (which predominantly include drinking tea in my PJs, having fruitful conversations about life and the world, cooking together whilst watching a movie).
There are several people these days who focus on the ‘stuff’ and forget that materialism and money cannot buy happiness, morals, character or love. What is worse is social media has made it that much easier to focus on the ‘stuff’ and less on the character of the person. Pictures are 2-dimensional after all. You see what you see and nothing beyond, so do not judge a book by its cover.
Let me make one thing clear though. All the above does not mean I don’t like gifts haha. I appreciate gifts from my loved ones and I will do my best to give them something whenever I can in any way shape or form. I just despise people who define relationships by the materialistic exchange of ‘stuff’. I hope I’m making myself clear!
Ultimately I ask myself this question all the time and it gives me hope every time I think of the answer. If you stripped me off all my material possessions, would I still be able to smile? Yes. Why? Because I have my family, my friends and importantly I have myself. If you believe in yourself to create a life out of nothing, the material ‘stuff’ will not budge you.
An Infinite Journey 