Today's
Meditation:
How
true this is, especially in these days when marketers have
an unprecedented ability to intrude into our lives in an
effort to convince us that we "need" things that
we don't actually need. We face a constant barrage
of materials that have been created with the help of study
after study that has examined consumer behavior so that
they can be more effective. And more effective in
what? In getting us to buy things that until we saw
the ad, we didn't even think we wanted.
Buying
things, though, is always a decision. It's important
that we look at our decision-making with a sense of
clarity, though, in order to be able to spend our money on
things that we truly need, and to spend within our means
rather than beyond our means. After all, we're not
here on this planet to impress other people--we're here in
order to grow and to love and to share our lives with
others, aren't we?
Many
people create many worries for themselves by spending more
money than they've earned, and those worries definitely
affect their ability to enjoy life and living. The
consequences of not being able to pay bills are pretty
drastic, and the consequences of spending everything you
earn each month to pay bills also are pretty drastic, and
they can greatly diminish the joy of our experiences here
on this planet.
Do
you really want and/or need everything that you buy?
How much of our buying is done on impulse, or done to
impress others? As long as we ask ourselves the
important questions when we are buying--do I really need
this, can I afford this?--we can help ourselves to spend
wisely and thus help ourselves to live without much of the
stress caused by money problems.
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