How DO YOU CURE MATERIALISM?!
Question:
How DO YOU CURE MATERIALISM?
I have known people that would rather have cell phones, video games and money than anything else. Frankly, we all like stuff, but seeing people upset for not having junk gives me the creeps. When I want something, I save for it. I see them as tools for steps or toys. When I started working, I was able to buy more or my favorite stuff, but that only gave me feelings of pleaure and less intense than when I saved. Some people even hate their parents as adults for not buying them stuff! We were poor in L.A. when I was a kid, so I never asked my mom for toys because I didn't want to break her heart. Somehow, I had many toys just the same.
Answers:
Unfortunatly, I don't think you can cure someone else of materialism. But if they really want to change, they can. I was totally addicted to owning stuff, but I left everything behind for 6 months, buying and keeping only what I could carry, and now I'm much less obsessed with buying/owning things.
It's not at all the same as experiencing poverty, because I had money and security and the support of my family to fall back on if anything went truly wrong, but it was still a very valuable exercise. Now I value what I have instead of yearning for what I don't need.