In the comfortable and affluent world I inhabit my acquisitiveness is deliberately cultivated by advertisers without any mention of the real costs of the goods that I am invited so pleasurably to consume. Deliberately keeping my so-called needs lowered is a positive act and not a sacrifice. It prevents my identity becoming inextricably intertwined with my possessions. It s easy to let your belongings absorb more of your time and energy than your friends. If this happens, all spontaneity, all joy and all genuine affection gradually disappear from your life.
Objects become a substitute for affection.
When you get depressed you go out and buy something. The work involved in owning and maintaining endless consumer goods is also a worry rather than a delight. It is easy to spend all the time being anxious lest your latest hi-tech gadget is stolen, or your house is broken into. And friendships cease to contain the simple joys of borrowing and lending as your possessions become too valuable to be trusted in another s hands. In contrast, by living more simply we rediscover how to share and how to recognize and celebrate our interdependency with other people.