Something inspirational

A couple of years back I read a quote in a book called Affluenza: the all-consuming epidemic by John de Graaf, David Wann and Thomas H. Naylor, which I found so inspirational that I photocopied it and stuck it on my wall at work. As often happens with things you put up to inspire you on a daily basis, I got so used to it being there that I forgot about it. Today, I was having a bit of a declutter and rearrangement and as I was sticking up a new daily thing to remember (33 Rules to Boost Your Productivity by Steve Pavlina for those who are interested... very useful), I noticed it again and now feel compelled to share it:

"People don't need enormous cars, they need respect. They don't need closets full of clothes, they need to feel attractive and they need excitement and variety and beauty. People don't need electronic equipment; they need something worthwhile to do with their lives. People need identity, community, challenge, acknowledgement, love and joy. To try to fill these needs with material things is to set up an unquenchable appetite for false solutions to real and never-satisfied problems. The resulting psychological emptiness is one of the major forces behind the desire for material growth."^[1]

Wise words indeed.

I'm glad I put that quote up because it is easy to forget all that in our society, forever striving for more, always being tempted by the newest sparkly gadgety thing, especially when planning a wedding. It's nice to be reminded that these things aren't necessary, that life only really needs to be as complicated as we choose to make it, and .... oooh... look! New shoes!!!

[1] This quote is attributed to Donella Meadows in Beyond the Limits