Categories: uncategorized
Date: 20 March 2007 14:26:01
I realized that to do is better than to have.
Put like that it comes across as some grand philosophy and exhortation to go and do good instead of being materialist. But actually I meant it as simply an observation from a fairly devout materialist. It's simply that materialism doesn't really work.
I was brought up to think that acquiring things was always the best thing to do with money. It was never stated quite like that, more likely it would be said that there's no point spending money if you've nothing to show for it. And, like any other impressionable young child, I took it in. And I suppose only recently have I finally realized the fallacy of it.
I'd had some glimpses of this truth before, but the full strength of it never seemed to dawn on me, which I think is down to the amount of brainwashing I'd had about the virtues of materialism.
I remember once selling a precious possession in order to have enough money to buy a ticket to a gig. The possession would, if I hadn't sold it, be gathering dust on a shelf now somewhere doing essentially nothing. The memory of that gig, however, is as vibrant as ever.
On another occasion around the same time I had the choice of buying a ticket to a different gig, or buying a book. The book was incredibly good value so I chose to forgo the gig and get the book. But before long it too was gathering dust, read and not really likely to get looked at again. I can't remember even if I still have it, but if I do then I've only kept it as a tangible reminder of a wrong decision. For there have been so many times when I've regretted not going to that gig. It was the only chance I ever had to see that band and I missed it.
Unfortunately I'm doing the same again. A gig I've been waiting 23 years for is coming up and I'm going to miss it because I choked at the ticket prices. Silly, but then that's me to a tee. When will I ever learn?
Fortunately, that at least is a dumb question. I have learnt. I might not always act out what I've learnt, but I have learnt it. Things don't last. Memories do.