Like most Americans, I'm surrounded by enormous piles of crap. In the immediate vicinity, there's a printer, an empty Coke can, a marker, eight hundred and sixty two thousand pencils, a binder catalogue (I'm a lawyer, we get stuff like that), a sippy cup...just way too much to list. I spent hard-earned money (and therefore time) on everything around me right now, but does it make me happy?
Truth be told, not really. Stuff, I think, can't really make anyone happy once you have the needs met in an adequate fashion. Then you have to move up Maslow's hierarchy, and seek fulfillment in something more than the animal needs, which is really all stuff can fulfill. The human capacity--and need--is greater than a new couch or a million gigs of space. Happiness, for humans, comes from meaning.
So why are Americans in particular so stuck on stuff? Why do we seek meaning at Walmart, as if we need only the proper accessories to step into Barbie's dream life?
I think work is a large part of it. We need a job to survive. We need work to thrive. Not just time-filling and bill-paying, but engaging work that challenges us, that stretches us to the limit of our capacity and makes us feel a part of something larger. That old cliche about wanting to get out of bed in the morning? It's cliche because it's true; riches without meaning will never make a person happy, though it's a lot more comfortable than poverty without meaning.
Most folks know, in that deep, ineffable place where the self lives, that "stuff" will never make them happy, that they're capable of more than just meeting needs at an ever more sophisticated level. So why don't we? Why do we sublimate all of our ambitions into an Xbox, and spend the very money that could let us pursue a new path, the path that could lead to meaning, on shoes and belts that won't do the first thing to bring us closer to true happiness?
For starters, the idea's just not out there all that much. Media, which is the main cultural intermediary, survives on advertiser money. Advertisers don't sell meaning; advertisers sell stuff. Ever seen a beer commercial with two social workers talking about the intangible rewards that make the paltry salary and grueling hours worth it? Nope, didn't think so. There's also the simple economic reality that there are a lot of incredibly unfulfilling jobs that companies need done, for the lowest cost possible. Companies exist to make the most profit possible, and that requires human labor, not human fulfillment. But it can't all be laid at the media's and the corporations' door, either. The other, probably bigger, part of the puzzle is much more personal and simple:
Making a meaningful life is incredibly difficult.
It involves knowing yourself, knowing your gifts and limitations, knowing your values, knowing your deepest desires. It requires deep, ardent commitment. Creating a life of meaning, a life that stretches a person daily and engages their gifts, is ultimately an incredibly personal journey that brooks neither the faint of heart nor those unwilling to sacrifice. But the truth is anyone can do it. Even while holding down a job, one can still engage in and commit to the work that will ultimately nourish and sustain the soul while the job sustains the body.
For me, this is where frugality's true importance lies. Frugality is one of the most powerful tools we have to limit the control of our jobs, so that we may pursue our work. By practicing frugality, we lessen the amount of money we need to support our needs, freeing up time to pursue whatever makes our hearts pound with joy. Personally, frugality allows me to run my own practice, focusing on the clients whose cases most matter to me. Every dollar I don't need for "stuff" is time I can spend on what really matters. If you ask me, you can't find a better deal than that.
