In Chapter four of Thomas Merton's book, New Seeds of Contemplation, he says the following:
Detachment from things does not mean we set up a contradiction between 'things' and 'God' as if God were another 'thing' and as if his His creatures were His rivals. We do not detach ourselves from things in order to attach ourselves to God, but rather we become detached from ourselves in order to see and use all things in and for God.
When I first read this chapter, I took the 'things' comment literally, such that I was thinking about all purchased or obtained physical things. And I quickly began shaking my head in acknowledgement.
There is a constant tension I face between the desire to buy the next thing to make my life better and become happier, against the reality that clutter and hoarding is a significant source of discomfort in my life.
- The regular need to purge our house of overbought items.
- Stress that happens when items break or do not fulfill expectations
- A falsehood of beliefs, that make us feel that a better life is just the next purchase away
When I am able to traverse one level deeper into my anger associated with things and clutter, what I often uncover is my feelings of failure.
Or, a realization that I am not living in a way that is aligned with what I say is my belief system. The friction between what I believe and what I do. In the same way that I ignore exercise and diet, as I gain weight, but hold the foundation of weight management to be based on a lifestyle focused on habits of diet and exercise.
The friction here is between an acknowledged belief that things or purchases can not make me happier, yet I look around the room and see hundreds of decisions that were made to purchase something with that very expectation.
The moral of the story often ends with me affirming that if I bought less, I would be living in alignment, which would allow me to be happier.
However, as Merton suggests, that is a egotistic and self-centered point of view.
The answer is not necessarily to stop buying things.
The answer is to change the framework upon which I make those decisions. It shouldn't be, "Will buying this make me happy," but "Can I use this purchase to grow closer to God and bring glory to him."
Clearly not the message you'll see marketing teams coming up with, as they have discussions on how they can motivate you to buy those products.