We're living in a material world, and I'm a material person (notice the gender equality of the rewritten, more apt lyrics). I guess that at this time of year, more so than any other point, our obsession with material objects really comes to the fore and dominates our lives. What do you want for Christmas? What should I get for the family? Blah blah. You know the score, the season is overwhelming geared towards giving and receiving, perhaps more receiving than giving. As I've gotten older the joy of giving has begun to far out weight the joy of receiving (its still nice to receive though) & I guess (or hope) this would be the case for a lot of people too. But why? I think it is for the following reasons:
Giving provides a wonderful personal satisfaction, more than receiving
As we grow older we appreciate those close to us more and find joy in giving to them
We naturally accumulate things, so buying presents for people becomes harder and as such, more obscure gifts are given
Our taste become more defined, so we naturally want more specific things
That is a really shallow understanding. I guess the last point is something that's been evident for me lately. In saying that, it is because at the moment the material possessions I'm keen to 'collect' are:
A Gibson ES 335
A Fender Deville valve amp
To rebuild my car
A Nikon D90
See the problem. I'm after some very expensive things that I want (read have to) to save for. But ultimately, I think that the real problem, or my real problem, is that my material desire is not in keeping with the spirit of Christmas. I think its best to think about what the season is all about and approach it with that understanding. I think we all need t
o focus on giving a little more, particularly to those less fortunate (particularly if I'm keen to get such elaborate gifts) so that is the idea. Do that.
Still, if anyone is keen, you've seen the list...
Here is a picture I took of a car too, on a nice camera. Yay
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