This is a Daily Moment—short perspectives on life and times through a dad’s eye.
November 26, 2021
This morning I woke up to numerous emails and notifications reminding me that today is Black Friday. Black Friday is a weird one. It’s like modern capitalism meets human psychology in this grand money sucking orgy that starts earlier every year.
Anyway, since we’ve been here in America, we’ve been reflecting more on this consumption, which at least feels more pronounced here than back in Barcelona. Of course people everywhere like to get new things, and I’m no exception to that. But the opportunities to spend money, and the encouragement to do so, are just really ever-present here.
Then I look around at the stuff I already have: that jacket, those shoes, those book shelves, and camping gear. There was a moment in time where these were the things that I wanted more than anything else. And then I got all this stuff. And then I started wanting more.
It’s like this endless cycle of craving and boredom. We want something, we work to get it, we get it, and then we get bored with that thing, so we start wanting the next thing. Over and over. So I’m wondering: why is it so hard to just be happy with the things we’ve already got?
→ I continue to struggle with this Black Friday battle.
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