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AM I the only person terrified by everything
getting so big? Is anyone else feeling that the bigger things get,
the more soulless they are becoming? McMansions furnishing each
newborn with their own room and ensuite. People-movers providing
every passenger with their own seat and personal air-conditioning
settings. Buckets of popcorn larger than a human head flavoured not
with butter but with butter flavouring.
Families eating around a wide-screen TV the size of a dining
table. Mega-meal deals devoid of nutrition complete with a stuffed
cheese crust, chocolate Bavarian and 1.25 litres of fizzy emptiness
to wash it down. Shopping centres so massive it can take more than
an hour to find your way back to your car. And as for coffee, once
it was, "Sugar and milk?" These days not only is there a dazzling
array of sexed-up artificial flavours but we have the choice of
jug, bucket or trough. A simple cup of coffee is no longer enough.
We want more.
If bigger was better I'd be thrilled for us. I'd be dancing in
the streets wearing a T-shirt saying, "SUPER-SIZING IS YOUR TICKET
TO SPIRITUAL AWARENESS AND INNER HAPPINESS". But it's not. The
bigger things get, the smaller we are becoming.
The more we have, the less we're enjoying it. The hole just gets
bigger and that button inside us never turns off, no matter what we
buy it, feed it or stuff it with. Obesity is soaring and depression
is an epidemic. We're knee deep in mortgage stress, debt slavery
and the time poor. And the water is rising.
Abundance takes the value from everything. Nothing seems special
any more. And we can't help ourselves because we're just mammals
programmed to binge in times of plenty. Going to one of those
all-you-can-eat places makes me feel sick. Eat more. It's cheap.
We've got heaps! This food means nothing. Pile up your plate. You
deserve it. You've paid for it. The more you eat, the more value
you'll get.
You go from feeling empty to feeling stuffed, empty and sick.
It's a false economy. And it's not making us happy. We don't know
what it feels like to be sated any more. We have two settings.
Empty or overdosed.
Costco is opening this year in Melbourne. That sentence seems
benign enough until you realise what Costco it. It's an American
chain of warehouse clubs. I hear you ask, what's a warehouse club?
Well, it's a massive supermarket where you buy things in bulk.
Cheap. Very cheap. You pay a yearly fee of about $50 to be a
member and because you've paid you feel compelled to drive out,
stock up and get your money's worth.
When I say bulk I'm talking "One-kilogram packets of potato
chips … toilet rolls in packs of 36. Listerine in three-litre
packs. Laundry detergent in nine-kilogram boxes … maple syrup by
the gallon (3.8 litres) chocolate bars in packs of 30 … and dog
food in 25-kilogram bags." Items are displayed on pallets and the
shopping trolleys are twice the usual size.
Don't get conned by "it's bulk and there are no plastic bags at
the checkouts so it's environmentally friendly". It encourages a
mentality of fear, famine and greed. It encourages people to
consume more than they need. Eat three chocolate bars for the price
of one. I've opened that kilogram bag of chips, so I may as well
polish it off. We don't need any more towels but they're so cheap!
Lets get 20. Because it's cheap people feel they're getting value
for money. They're not. It just means they're eating more, spending
more and feeling emptier. Instead of going to the local supermarket
to buy what they need, they're driving kilometres, taking 20
minutes to park and buying stuff they don't need, because it's
cheap. And it's there.
You may be thinking, "What's she going on about? If people want
to buy stuff to make them feel better, let 'em. We're all going to
die anyway. There's more important stuff to write about: war,
famine, poverty, the environment, the under-funded education
system, overburdened health care …"
Can't you see? All this
gorging on abundance is destroying the environment, creating
landfill and making us slaves to multinationals with "buying
power". It's making us fat, sad and scared, which affects the cost
of health care and leaves fewer resources for schools and aid.
We're getting stressed and sad and that impacts on our
productivity, quality of life and happiness and that of those
around us. And it's corroding our souls.
Do what you like, buy what you like, drive what you like and
shop where you like. But ask yourself if you are really getting
value for money.
I'm glad the price of petrol is going up and the price of food
is rising. It's the only way that we're going to stop, look around
and realise what things are really costing us.
Food for thought... and I think that although this was published
in an Aussie newspaper, it has a universal voice.
