Objects of Desire
While I was driving home the other day, I saw an old Lexus GS 400 in the lane next to me. It brought back memories of high school because that was my favorite car during the late '90's. I thought it was a great car with impressive performance: I mean, 290hp...that's awesome (and much better than the 88hp in my dad's Honda Accord).
But I drove by and thought, "Ahh, it's really not that nice anymore."
And I thought about how I dreamed of driving something like that 8 years ago, but now it was just another car on the road. I looked around at other nice cars as I finished my drive home: there were lots of nice cars, but there were even more nicer cars.
You see, I desired that car because it was one of the best back then. And now I desire other cars because they are nicer now. But the funny thing is that in a couple years, the next model will come out, and it will be sexier and more powerful. And so many of us will rush to replace the old model with the newer, prettier one.
Of course, I'm not lambasting anyone for buying a new car, but it made me realize how fleeting our desires are. When we cherish and fawn over material items, we fail to realize how they don't actually hold the key to happiness. We think, "If I could only have this, I would be happy." But truly, we are fooling ourselves by trying to be happy through stuff.
Because next year I'll see the newer model that will make me happier. And I'll trade in for that while missing out on the things that make me happy. Sad, isn't it...