Qiao

Living with less

A shift from the bigger and better mentality

By Trevor Doré, Opinions Editor

ost of us dream of one day
owning a bigger house,
a nicer car and a fancier

wardrobe. We push ourselves through
school and then through a career in
order to make enough money to live
comfortably and to have these things
that we “need.” Although there is
nothing wrong with working hard
in order live comfortably, perhaps
there is something wrong with our
definitions of convenience and
comfort. In order to live comfortably
and conveniently, we constantly
strive for bigger and better things.
We have adopted a growth for
the sake of growth mentality. In our
pursuit of bigger and better we often
forget to stop and question why? Do
we really need bigger, do we really
need better, or perhaps we don’t
need at all. This drive for bigger and
better has negative consequences
for individuals, society and the
environment. What price are we
willing to pay?

other words, there is no correlation
between consumption and long-term
personal satisfaction. Many will
argue that money can buy a certain
level of comfort and convenience—
but not happiness. As individuals
within society, we are trapped in a
cycle of work and spend. In order

to maintain our lavish lifestyles we
must work ridiculous hours. In turn,
the amount of time we spend working
and then shopping outweighs the
time we spend with friends and
family, partaking in hobbies and
volunteering with community groups.
We are too busy on the treadmill to
stop and enjoying the smaller things
in life.

This pattern of conspicuous
consumption is also harmful to the
environment. This constant pursuit
of more results in resource depletion
and environmental degradation. As
the world’s population continues
to rise exponentially, the problem
continues to compound. Nearly
everyone consumes more than is
necessary to survive yet we still

This drive for bigger and better has negative
consequences for individuals, society and the
environment. What price are we willing to pay?

Many people spend their entire
working lives on what has often
been referred to as the “treadmill,”
continually running faster and faster
without getting anywhere in terms
of individual satisfaction. They
constantly strive for more income
in order to be able to consume and
consume in order to demonstrate an
achieved level of income. We are so
pre-occupied with material things.
It’s a never-ending cycle of trying
to keep up with the Joneses. People
are increasingly willing to forgo in
the name of convenience. They work
for hours and hours a week in order
to demonstrate their status with a
house that is much larger than what
they actually need and a car with all
of the latest and greatest gizmos and
gadgets.

We have long been told that
money can’t buy happiness. In

16

unsatisfied. In the words of Mahatma
Gandhi, “The world has enough for
everybody’s need, but not enough for
everybody’s greed.”

It’s really about living a simpler
life, replacing frivolity with frugality.
In the end, being rich is a matter
of how you look at it, not having
a bunch of stuff. As the upcoming
generation, we might not necessarily
have the same standard of living as
our parents but perhaps, this is not as
bad as at first it may seem. It’s about
a gradual shift in attitudes and values
towards work and the environment.
Chances are if you don’t want much,

~ you want continually want for more.

So, stop and take some time
to enjoy the finer things in life
instead of continually striving for
unnecessary bigger and better. Make
the shift away from overindulgence
and start living happily with less.

SAIN

 

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Ghandi