This “well-being without overpurchase” completely contradicts what companies, advertising agencies and even governments want. They want us to consume; They want us to be addicted to more and more things – to reject the old for better and for better. “Seismic displacement.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/seismic%20shift. Retrieved 9 December 2022. The shift is towards a new vision of wellness that focuses on our relationships and real needs, rather than buying flashy and desire-driven things. Our relationship with time and money is moving away from earning money to consume, to earning money to support a relaxed, centered and enjoyable life. These changes will have a profound impact on our economy. We will be more aware of saving versus spending and more sensitive to avoiding unnecessary and unhealthy decisions. We will see that well-being is about you, them, us, and even the Earth – not just ourselves. I was recently in Zambia and I heard an African say, “What I am is who you are.” Through connections in churches, book clubs, poker games, pizza nights, walks in the woods, and yoga retreats, we will seek and find wellness.
We will eventually find it through contemplation, awareness, love, acceptance and good practice. A seismic change is underway. The change underway is profound and will seem revolutionary to most. What is this change? The historical paradigm that our self-esteem comes from what we possess is coming to an end. We move away from the appreciation of several cars, several televisions, plastic surgeries and save little. This shift will highlight the false consumerist economy that we in the West believe is the key to prosperity and happiness. After all, it`s etched in our collective heads that our lending and spending behavior doesn`t make us happy. Of course, this shift will baffle economists, governments, and businessmen who believe that wealth can only come from a system that borrows more, spends more, and consumes more. All these changes will lead to stagnation or a decline in real estate prices. Companies that make products to feed our materialistic vanities will sell less, and consumers will begin to prefer people, the environment, and personal happiness to consumerism.
We will save more, spend less and be with people in more meaningful activities. Those who become financially wealthy are on the right side of this trend toward quality, sustainability, relationships, and wellness. In other countries, there is little to buy and little money to buy, so entertainment is not shopping; It`s being with friends and family. It`s watching soccer (our soccer), dancing in a bar, seeing kids playing in the street or sharing a beer and simple meals with food and conversation. And these people are happier. What for? Because they are in a relationship; They are with people who bring them meaning, value and comfort. I only tell these stories because stories and experience are the best teachers. My children learned from them very quickly – just as we quickly learn from the excesses of the last 10 years. Paul Sutherland is President of the Financial and Investment Management Group. See excerpts from his bestseller Zenvesting as well as his upcoming book The Virtues of Wealth in SpiritualityHealthbooks.com. To ask a question or discuss, contact him at [email protected]. Paul Sutherland lives in Michigan with his four youngest children, ages 5 to 10.
He and his wife, Amy, try to be an example of parenting for a peaceful world where democracy starts at home. The word “Catholic” means whole and complete, and ultimately religions will find their roots not in judgment, separation or exclusivity, but in acceptance, love, compassion and the desire to help all achieve well-being; In other words, “integrity.” Companies will continue to aggressively crack down on our children and try to create current and future consumers. Go to sites like dubit.co.uk or Facebook.com and click on their promotional links to see how scientifically manipulative the quest to possess our children`s minds has become. But consider this: my son Keeston recently ordered a cheap item on the Internet. Sure, it looked so cool and had a price it couldn`t resist. But when he opened the package, I heard him exclaim, “That`s crap! I will never buy on the Internet again! My daughter Akasha recently used her Christmas bonus to buy boots that were advertised as the brand she coveted. She found them online at a discount store without refund, but she knew the trunk and their size, and she knew they would fit. The boots that arrived turned out to be beautiful “imitations” too small and without exchange.