Less is More. A concept that we should try to remember when we look at the dress we think we would die for, but then we realize there’s no reason to because we have an identical one in our closet. In today’s world, there is a growing infatuation of humans and materialistic objects that revolve around fashion and technology. Individuals purchase excessive amounts of materialistic either to remain connected to the social world or to fill their need for something bigger than themselves. The idea of minimalism, less is more, is completely lost as our culture continues to binge on everything that can bring them temporary happiness no matter the cost.
Rooms are cluttered with clothes that are never worn. Appliances that were one Amazon click away from happiness are completely forgotten. A room with simple necessities and wants which speaks loudly of freedom and a full heart are lost. It’s all lost and we’re drowning in an ocean that we’ve created.
But why is this the case? Why isn’t the amount we have of everything we need enough? Because there is hunger. In the words of my favorite artist, Florence Welch, “We all have a hunger.” It’s insatiable. As society grows and as we do, we crave more than the tiny screen and the world we’ve constructed to believe we love. We have a hunger and need for more that isn’t being fulfilled. Akin to a child who shoves anything in their mouth, we even as adults tend to shove everything.
We live in such a cluttered environment with no freedom to move and still, we take more. In order to fulfill this hunger, we rely on materialistic objects that won’t leave or make us feel anything other than the way we want to. So why is it that about 54% of 20,000 Americans surveyed by Cigna reported being lonely? (Chatterjee, “Americans Are A Lonely Lot, And Young People Bear The Heaviest Burden” 2018)
Because objects aren’t the answer. Because we as a society have gotten used to hiding our emotions and trying to satisfy our needs with hollow objects. We convince ourselves that we are better off alone because people can be complex and exhausting. Wr cling to materialistic objects that serve no purpose aside from catering to us. There is no change. There is no growth. There is simply ourselves.
We become stunted and terrified of change.
But we’ve forgotten. We keep forgetting.
Our sense of community for better or worse has created this heartbreakingly, devastatingly beautiful world we live in.