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December 24, 2003
Why we spend.
American's are working more than ever before. Most Americans get very little vacation. Most Americans end up using their vacation for non-vacation purposes, or to quickly fulfill their duty to their family. Time is our most valuable commodity. To quote the Book of Worldly Wisdom, "Nothing really belongs to us but time. which you have even if you have nothing else." But what happens when we give all our time to someone else, much as a servant would. Most Americans give their time to work, to make someone else rich.So there you are, working longer and longer hours, maybe making decent money, but for what? You don't have a lot of free time. Especially after you take care of your home, car, finances, etc... So what do most people do? Spend money. Or rather, buy things for themselves.
The justification goes as follows. "I worked hard, I deserve a reward! I really can't take a lot of time off for anything, so I'll buy a nice car. This car has the added benefit of showing others how hard I work." The trouble is, most of these things are either unnecessary, or something far cheaper would have more than sufficed. Like eating, it makes you feel better. Spending money is a drug like alcohol used to forget a life with little true progress or meaning.
Leisure time, for lack of a better term, is essential to a life lived with meaning. It is in the moments between rushing from goal to goal that we gain perspective on ourselves and where we are going. For many, these moments are too few and far between to have any cumulative value. Its not just that there is more to live than work. Its that, for most, work, while a necessity, should be secondary to life. Who's life? Yours and the people you care about.
Posted by wonko at December 24, 2003 08:10 PM
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