Focus on Lack

We live in a society that guides us towards focusing on what we lack. We are inundated with advertisements and a general ethos that tells us we are not enough. That what we currently have isn’t, or shouldn’t be, enough to make us happy.

We have been conditioned to believe that only that which is profitable has any value. The great striving for ‘more’ is a construct of a system that is predicated on the insatiable consumption of stuff. The way that system propagates itself is by convincing people that they aren’t good enough. Its energy is directed towards making people focus on what they lack as opposed to focusing on what they have.

The reason we don’t focus on what we have is because there is no profit motive there. Being mindful of our precious time and the natural world that we inhabit is the death-nail of the current system. Contentedness is the antithesis to a system that since your birth has said you aren’t good enough. A system that preys on our insecurities and is quick to offer us a fix for our feelings of inadequacy. A fix that assuredly comes with a price.

What has real value in the natural untainted world is the beauty of our existence, the wonders of our planet, and the connections we have with our fellow man. All of that is free – hence devalued in our society. Most of our feelings of hopelessness stem from the notion that we don’t feel worthy of happiness, love, or peace.

We feel unworthy because basically everything up to this point has told us that who we are right now is not good enough. Advertisements, religions, and schools have all said – directly or indirectly – that you are lacking and what you lack is your fault. It is your fault because you do not own the right blank or believe the right blank or know the right blank.

Bettering oneself and searching for meaning are commendable endeavors, but the tools for doing those admirable things in life can be hijacked. They can be commandeered in order to sell you a product or ideology. This process doesn’t only leave one jaded, but can lead to a sense of despair. Despair leads to violence and nihilism.

Too often we accept this violence and despair as unavoidable aspects of this system. When we try to find causes for mass shootings, rising suicide rates, or the overall rise of despair related issues we never seem to consider the common underlying cause. The cause, it seems to me anyway, is that we live in a system that is predicated on competition instead of cooperation. We live in a system of hyper-engagement with media that is constantly trying to convince you that you lack true value without their product, service, or ideology.

America is a nation that holds in high esteem two of the worst characteristics of human nature – greed and selfishness. We justify greed through the idea of meritocracy in that one is entitled to whatever they work for and earn. Selfishness is justified through our romanticized concept of individualism. Limiting actions in an effort to safeguard the whole or the community is often seen as an infringement on these two notions. It is perceived as an infringement on personal freedom.

There are a number of issues with how we view meritocracy and individualism. They are nuanced concepts and have wide interpretations with many potholes. Individualism can be used to ensure rights for the transgender community while at the same time allow others to forgo safety measures during the current COVID-19 pandemic. Meritocracy sounds nice until we realize some people are born into vast wealth and others are born into poverty and addiction.

Essentially the point is that profit motivates almost all of our interaction with culture. Some would even find it hard to point out a part of American life that isn’t tied in some fashion to a profit model. Perhaps what we need is an experiment within our own day to day lives.

Try living one day in total contentment. Be satisfied with the size of your house and the things that fill it. Be content with your achievements. Be happy about all that is your life. Just for one day resist the urge to think you need anything else. For one day just feel absolute contentment in yourself. We so rarely feel that for extended periods of time. For that one day believe that you are enough and shut out anything that tries to tell you different.

I appreciate your attention and hope you found value in this.
Thanks for reading.