A step towards evolution

We have to make a choice. The world has been changing at a very fast pace in the last centuries. The age of industrialization has created a world made of “fake abundance” for some and lack of everything for others. I prefer to talk about “fake abundance” because I am not sure we really need all the products and services that are offered to us. It is “fake abundance” because we are lacking so much more than physical products. We are lacking humanity at work. We are lacking an enjoyable life. Similar to drug addicts, we consume to feel better.

Buy this new face cream, meal, sport clothes. You will feel better.

Buy organics, buy local, buy, buy, buy…

So, this is “fake abundance”. We have the impression that we have more than those living in poor countries but when I look at their faces, they are prone to celebration. They are thankful and appreciative. We are not.

In the name of money, the god of consumerism, entire societies are becoming monstrous creatures that consume much more than what they need. Companies fight to be the first one creating the new wave of consumptive goods. They manipulate us by creating advertisements to make us feel a certain way. They do not care about us, they care about our money. The manipulation through advertising or let’s call it brainwashing starts very young. Children are exposed to advertising without learning how to critically think about the products. In my family, I had the chance to be educated early on about these manipulative attempts. We have discussions about the interests different Brands have. Is everything in the advertisement true? Did you know, for example, butter from the same manufacturer may be sold under two brands? A famous, expensive one and a discount label? Exactly the same butter! The only difference is the name on the packaging and the price!

At the same time, we are destroying the world and we are aware of it. We all know the existence and consequences of climate change except for some people who refute its existence. Our greed leads to the massive destruction of forests, the use of chemicals that pollute the soils and lakes, pollution of ocean and sea waters with plastics and dross. We are the ones throwing things on the streets because someone else will clean it up later. We are the one not running after a plastic container that fell on the ground. We are the one consuming so much meat even if it is unhealthy. I may be a business consultant but I am first human. I wonder at what state we are going to die because all the things that we are doing now are driving us to a faster death through wars that will come up because of a lack of clean water, healthy soils and so one. A death caused by cancers that originates from the food we consume.

We work for companies and feel exhausted and/or exploited. We spend most of our time at work.

Sometimes we are in jobs, activities and relationships that do not make us happy.

We pretend to be happy because we are able to BUY stuff. We pretend that it is acceptable to live a meaningless life but look at all the people who need any kind of medication or drugs to fall asleep, stay awake, feel better… Look at all the people who burn themselves out, kill themselves, and for what? For a life without meaning and full of shit.

Do you know what we all have in common? We are waiting for someone else to change our life or at least some aspect of it. We expect the boss to decide for us and then we cry out that it is not fair. We expect the politician to take decisions but do not want to live with the consequences. Everyone is for renewable energy but no one is ready to have a wind turbine in their region. Everyone wants a world in peace, with clean water and air but no one is ready to change himself. Living a life of consumption where you just follow the suggestions of advertisement, waiting for someone else to change our lives, and not taking responsibilities for our actions are the ingredients for disaster.

We must evolve and shift. We cannot be consumers, addicts and victims for too long because we are missing our raison d’être. Each one of us is a miracle. “Scientists estimate the probability of your being born at about one in 400 trillion”, according to Are You a Miracle? On the Probability of being born article. Society transformed us into tamed consumers.

We buy certain brands because it represents something, because we want to find our tribe. People like us. [bctt tweet=”Companies are playing with the need for belonging to make us buy their products.” username=”acgraber_”]

What if we are all made of the same “stars dust”. What if we are equal whatever we believe in and do. Equal in the sense that we are made of the same material. We are all alive. We all have consciousness of being alive. Our consciousness is more or less elevated but we are all conscious of being a unique human being.

When we close our eyes and breath. When we find silence within us. We realize that we can observe life and our thoughts. We can question the rightness of an action and an advertisement. We can shift our thoughts to create more life.

I wonder what would happen if all of us woke up from this “unconscious state of living”. We would probably change the following things:

• Accept our responsibilities for our lives
• Make small changes at the individual level that will impact the world
• Support each other’s growth
• Produce just what we need so we could respect nature
• Be concerned that everyone has food, a roof and an education
• Be happy

The “consumer” era must end. We must change the way we see the world and concentrate ourselves on the inner work that will help us all evolve. For that, we must ask ourselves some questions.

Feel free to register to the newsletter to get access to all worksheets and the number #006.