Last week I downloaded a game called Logo Quiz. I was able to successfully name the majority of the logos that the game displayed. As silly as it sounds, that is quite sickening considering I cannot name all the supreme court justices, that I could not fill in a map of the United States and would not be able to identify the different phases of the moon. I am embarrassed to say that even with all my b.s. about trying to be different, I too am guilty when it comes to buying into this materialistic attitude.
It is a sad state of affairs when the citizens of this country can easily sketch the emblems of every designer car and can sing the jingle of most fast food joints but they would give a blank stare if asked to recite the Bill of Rights or the Pledge of Allegiance. We have become so impressed with what money can buy that we are blinded to so many other things around us. Kids today want the latest video games and sneakers more than they want to spend time with their family.
There are a thousand things that you can do that cost absolutely no money. There are nature hikes that no movie can compare to. There are lakes to fish that every download would fail in comparison to. There are countless elders who are just waiting for someone to talk to, someone to tell their story to... stories that cannot be duplicated in any lame reality show which so many people sadly live vicariously through. In our never ending quest for the best and biggest we started to overlook what was right in front of us. People are so used to being entertained and catered to, with all the luxuries that they think they can afford (most live way above their means) that they have long forgot about the little things that they once enjoyed. Everyone is so obsessed with outdoing their neighbors that they lost track along the way somehow confusing physical assets with happiness and enlightenment.
My new goal is to become more of a minimalist. To focus more on the mental and the spiritual and not the physical... until then, I am going to go to sleep on my Ralph Loren silk sheets:)
Is it hot in here or am I Crazy???
Well,Tony you did it again. You hit the nail on the head.Children today are privileged and rarely are told no....instead parents keep on buying more stuff for them.Children have only been home for three weeks, and when you see them with their parents.....they are bored and need to be entertained at all times.What happened to spending lazy days at the beach....participating in library free programs.....catching fireflies and putting them in a jar.....and falling asleep on the couch while watching T.V.?
ReplyDeletemy brother can't go on a trip without bringing their xbox and tablet and phones with extra chargers because heaven forbid they miss some important text from one of their clasmates. i used to ride with my mother with nothing but the radio, maybe some cassette tapes, a book and a map with handwritten instructions to our destination. i made it to florida in a subaru gls in this fashion. looking out the window at my surroundings, reading highway marker signs, counting down the miles to our goal, it was a lovely more relaxed time. all you can really do as a parent is try to keep these traditions alive, even for a little bit, so youre kids dont grow into crazy monsters.
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