A note to myself because I have an unsustainable hobby of buying ukuleles:
Your desire for things is predicated by the belief that you will be somehow made more complete, more full, and more happy by the acquisition of material goods. But if this were true the pattern of acquisition wouldn’t continue in the way it generally does. Acquisition as a means to feel complete creates a vicious cycle that leads to debt & significant labors. To break out of the cycle, to feel truly complete and whole, is to recognize that you are already whole - that no amount of external material good can do that for you. Instead it is your mindset: the understanding and belief that you are happy & whole as you are.
Your desire for things is predicated by the belief that you will be somehow made more complete, more full, and more happy by the acquisition of material goods. But if this were true the pattern of acquisition wouldn’t continue in the way it generally does. Acquisition as a means to feel complete creates a vicious cycle that leads to debt & significant labors. To break out of the cycle, to feel truly complete and whole, is to recognize that you are already whole - that no amount of external material good can do that for you. Instead it is your mindset: the understanding and belief that you are happy & whole as you are.
“We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.” - T.S. Eliot
Btw I never knew you were buying so many ukeleles? I knew you were learning the instrument but i figured you just had one? Maybe two lol. So would you admit that you were spending more time on researching ukeleles and buying them and less time on playing them?
spot on. I'd say I spent equal time doing both; still not a great thing haha.
I wrote another note today that's related:
The thing we’re willing to labor extensively for: anticipation. The estimated delivery date of the thing we just ordered, the unpredictable posts on our news feed, the prospect of becoming as good as the performer using the product in that one ad. And once we get the thing we anticipated: the product, the post, the possibility of becoming - we are quick to order more products, to scroll further down the feed, and to seek for the chance to become yet another shiny thing.