“Ohhh,” Wanda Eatalott moaned. “I stuffed myself again,” she though as she pulled back from the Thanksgiving feast. “Why do I make myself so miserable by over-eating during the holidays? I’d have enjoyed it more if I’d had a little less.”
“Excuse me! Excuse me!” Lemmie Grabatonn practically barked as he pushed his shopping cart through the Black Friday crowd. Lemmie had been up since early morning and now 8 hours later still had several items left on his gift list. Later that evening while soaking his tired feet Lemmie though back to last year’s family gift exchange party. There were so many gifts that many of the children had to actually be coaxed back to the tree to finish opening their presents. “Huh,” Lemmie thought to himself, “If we’d have had less stuff, we’d probably have enjoyed the day more.”
“Maybe if I push just a bit harder,” Anita Havalott grunted as she tried to close the storage closet door. Once more, Anita hadn’t been able to resist the alluring appeal of “The More You Buy, The More You Save” sales at the mall, so she bought another car-full of stuff. But now the closet, the attic and the garage were all overflowing. Anita kicked at the closet door and thought, “I really need to get rid of some of this stuff.”
Meanwhile next door, Les Ismorre picked up the Sunday paper and braced himself for another dose of the 4,000 to 10,000 advertisements that average Americans are exposed to every day. The not-so-hidden message is, “You are unhappy. Buy this and you’ll be as happy as the models in this ad are pretending to be. Our stuff will make you happy!”
“Just look at all these ads! No wonder we Americans are driven to consume, consume, consume!” Les thought. Estimates are it would take the resources of FOUR Earths if every human devoured resources like the average American. “Too bad we forget that experiences, especially those we share with others, make us happier than things, and the happiness lasts longer too!
“This holiday season instead of stuff, my gifts will be to help spread four genuine keys to happiness: friendliness, cheerfulness, compassion and gratitude,” Les resolved. “So often it really is true that Less is More. More for me, more for others, and more for our beautiful planet home where we’re all forever… Earthbound.”
“Excuse me! Excuse me!” Lemmie Grabatonn practically barked as he pushed his shopping cart through the Black Friday crowd. Lemmie had been up since early morning and now 8 hours later still had several items left on his gift list. Later that evening while soaking his tired feet Lemmie though back to last year’s family gift exchange party. There were so many gifts that many of the children had to actually be coaxed back to the tree to finish opening their presents. “Huh,” Lemmie thought to himself, “If we’d have had less stuff, we’d probably have enjoyed the day more.”
“Maybe if I push just a bit harder,” Anita Havalott grunted as she tried to close the storage closet door. Once more, Anita hadn’t been able to resist the alluring appeal of “The More You Buy, The More You Save” sales at the mall, so she bought another car-full of stuff. But now the closet, the attic and the garage were all overflowing. Anita kicked at the closet door and thought, “I really need to get rid of some of this stuff.”
Meanwhile next door, Les Ismorre picked up the Sunday paper and braced himself for another dose of the 4,000 to 10,000 advertisements that average Americans are exposed to every day. The not-so-hidden message is, “You are unhappy. Buy this and you’ll be as happy as the models in this ad are pretending to be. Our stuff will make you happy!”
“Just look at all these ads! No wonder we Americans are driven to consume, consume, consume!” Les thought. Estimates are it would take the resources of FOUR Earths if every human devoured resources like the average American. “Too bad we forget that experiences, especially those we share with others, make us happier than things, and the happiness lasts longer too!
“This holiday season instead of stuff, my gifts will be to help spread four genuine keys to happiness: friendliness, cheerfulness, compassion and gratitude,” Les resolved. “So often it really is true that Less is More. More for me, more for others, and more for our beautiful planet home where we’re all forever… Earthbound.”
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