My whole life my mother has told me that I am never satisfied. No matter how much I would buy, I still wanted more. No matter how high of a grade I got, I knew I could get higher. It was a never-ending cycle of want. My wants consumed me. The feeling of always needing more would never disappear. To this day it is still a faint voice in the back of my head.
The other day I read a poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson that reminded me of my dissatisfaction. The quote, “The stars awaken a certain reverence, because though always present, they are always inaccessible; but all natural objects make a kindred impression when the mind is open to their influence.” Emerson made me feel
that I was not the only one with this issue. The idea that humans admire stars because they are elusive beings, and something we will never be able to graze in our palms, brought me a sort of comfort. Although it is not necessarily good news, I was happy to know I am not the only one. At least there is a reason why we are the way we are. It goes along with this idea that we have a greater want for something when we cannot have it. What Emerson is saying is true, stars do carry a sort of reverence, but that does not in hand make them more important than what we already have. Stars are of course not the only beings that carry this feeling. Anything we cannot have has this effect on humans. At one point society needs to stop striving for materialistic happiness and conquer a sense of satisfaction with the natural world around us. If we continue to look up to inaccessible objects we will never stop to smell the flowers, that is until they’re gone.
So what are we supposed to do about it? We know we are never satisfied, but we have lived like this long enough. I decided to look into what to do about it. The first thing I had to check was my priorities. For example, I am on the swim team and wanted a new tech suit this season. A tech suit is just a fancy name for an extremely tight swimsuit. I told my mom I needed the most expensive one. I thought it would surely make me the fastest girl on the team. But once I got the suit I was finishing with the same times as before. I thought maybe I needed new goggles or a new cap. It took me a while before I finally realized I was striving for the wrong things.
I didn’t need any materialistic items, what I needed was to work harder. If I put the time and effort into becoming a better swimmer those results would satisfy me more than a new suit ever could. For others, there could be bigger issues hiding from the naked eye. If someone is not living for themselves then of course they will never be satisfied with their life. They are trying to win over someone else’s approval. They measure their self-worth on others’ opinions of them. Advertisements on social media and television are also no help. Almost every time you check Instagram there’s always something there to remind you what your life is missing. Why would you keep your brick-shaped iPhone 5 when there is a slim iPhone 14 waiting for you? The internet presents items, people, and situations to be something they are not. Now we are not even fighting our urges but also the world around us.
I could go on and on about what we need to stop and start doing. But the truth is being conscious of our wants is the first step. Take notice of your life and what you are working towards. Then evaluate your motivation based on what truly matters.