Another ism to add to the list. Maybe not.
What is materialism to you??
Reality? Material Reality?
These are good times for laying new eyes,
a fresh perspective
on anything and everything,
and especially things we think we "know" or have "got".
[ have you had the feeling lately that everything is up for grabs?]
What if you turn it (materialism) inside out?
Look at it from a different direction?
Here is a starting point from Charles Eisenstein, which very much points in the direction of the work that Natalie and I do, and the ways we endeavour to live:
"Ultimately, I am advocating a reversal of an age-old prejudice, which values the abstract over the concrete, the spirit over the flesh, and the spiritual over the material.
This anti-materialism has caused tremendous harm to materiality; that is, to nature. Part of recovering from the spell of money (which is itself an abstraction of value) is to re-value the material, the soil, the flesh, the living, and the human."
Charles Eisenstein
It is very interesting to me to real-ise as I read these words from Charles Eisenstein, that I have moved from being entranced by the abstract (even the language of the books I loved so much!), ungrounded, looking outside and beyond, when there is so much in 'what is'.
I hardly read any more.
My joy comes from time breathing and engaging deeply with my being, my loved ones, the land I live on, and the people and animals that I share this wonderous life with.
A richer tapestry than I ever imagined is there in any and all of these realms, and I didn't need to lift a finger. Only open my eyes and heart.
Turning the adult life that I began as a Fashion Designer inside out - perhaps that is why I began there!?
What about you? what is materialism to you?
What arises from within you as you dare turn these ideas over and around in your own body and mind?
How much have you turned away from the reality of ‘you’ - a human being walking around in a suit of flesh and bones, breathing, digesting with all the inescapable input and output.
A being who is some times ‘good’ or acceptable, and other times anything but …. and according to who’s rules anyway?
Nature’s rules?
My rules?? Yours? Societies?
If you want to change your reality, perhaps Charles Eisenstein’s invitation to reverse prejudice against materiality would be an interesting place to start.