Thursday, May 2, 2013

Materialism


Materialism

Materialism is man’s defiant attempt to overshadow destiny with the panoply of cities, the hurling activity of his body, the absorption of his five senses through ceaseless compulsions-with toys and furnishings, games, stones jewelry, and fine processions-with listening and looking and smelling and touching and tasting- with all and everything that servers to stave off introspection for a minute, an hour, a lifetime.

Phillip Wylie, Night unto Night (Preface)

There is a thin line between enjoying the spoils of life in which God has blessed us with and being over materialistic. I grew up neither wealthy nor poor but I have always have had a grasp of the difference between needs and wants. I have developed is the only unspoiled only child in America (I only had a Nintendo growing up, so I missed out on Nintendo 64, Sega Genesis, PlayStation 1 & 2 and Sony Dreamcast…. sorry for the nerdy rant). My parents have instilled in me a sense of being satisfied with whatever you have and I grew up a happy kid.

I am a bit worried for the youth of today always being stimulated with something (iPads, PSP, Cell Phone, etc.). It’s hard not to become materialist when you always have. Once the habit of always having is fully developed in a child’s consciousness there will be no limits for the wants of the child in the future. The youth of today may not even know the difference between a want and need as I learned growing up.

If I were to be blessed to have a family my plan to combat this trend of materialism would be.
1.     Technology Free Day – One day a week without any technology, that means no TV no playing on cell phones or tablets. This will also have to apply to the adults in the house for we are the best example for children.
2.     Charity – You don’t see how truly blessed you are until you dwell with people less fortunate than you. I am not talking about give some change to the homeless man at the train station either. I’m talking about going down to soup kitchen, handing out food to the homeless.
3.     More Play Time - There have been countless days where I have passed a park on a beautiful Saturday afternoon and its completely empty.  This would be unheard of in my teenage years. I remember some Saturdays traveling from park to park to find a court that’s been over crowded.    

Maybe I am just being old school with my thoughts and nothing is wrong with the way kids are coming up theses days.

Am I overthinking? Would you raise your children differently? Thoughts? Comment?

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2 comments:

  1. I'm with you on this!. Born neither rich nor poor my parents instilled a valuable lesson in my sis and I, the virtue of contentment. We had, what we had, and made good use out of what we were given. Although we may not have had the "no technology" days, we did have the "no TV days" where many of those days were spent enjoying each others company without the distractions of blaring music or comedic dialogue being heard in the background. And it's something that I plan to carry on to my children. I'm sure my kids will have the latest in technology-due to the fact, that technology is an ever evolving form of media.
    However, my children will understand that when the sun is shining and the weather is warm, be advantageous and enjoy the outdoors! I'm going to be an outdoorsy mother so I'm sure my love of Mother Nature will rub off on my children and they'll want to put down that iPad 15!
    But can we even blame this generation. The previous generous is to blame. Who are we to fault our kids when children lead by example. If we don't practice what we preach, future generations are doomed to repeat themselves. Andre, you are who you are because your parents guided you. The same with my folks. Kids now are the way they are because many parents are failing to put their foot down. Most parents are more eager to be their daughters best friend or son's confidant that parenting has fallen by the wayside.

    I'll strongly encourage my kids to spend time with the less fortunate but will also strongly encourage them to donate unwanted toys or unused clothes to Goodwill-I mean I had to do it when I was a kid-why not translate that love of giving back unto my own kids...

    Kids are materialistic not because of the amount of things that they have or are given but because guardians are not setting guidelines and limitations and are freely giving when no reward is reached.

    I'm prayerful that my children will be blessed and will reap the benefits from the labor of my husband and I, but I'm confident that they will know that as quick technology can be given to them, oh how quickly it can leave their hands :-)

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  2. It's really scary. I remember the other day I was on the metro bus and everyone had their facedown on some gadget. It's really scary!!

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