THE VOID: CONSUMPTION VS. ABUNDANCE

Do you buy lottery tickets? Do you know people who begin every other sentence with "When I win the lottery..."? As in "When I win the lottery, my life will finally straighten itself out, and I will be happy at last." Somehow, I don't think it works that way. If you were to round up all the people who actually have won the lottery, and question them, say, ten or fifteen years down the line, I suspect very few would say that geting all that money cured what ailed them, or filled that gaping hole. If anything, the void probably became more pronounced, once they realized money didn't fix it, and now they had nothing left to pin their hopes on.

Lex saw a bumper sticker just the other day, that summed things up pretty well: "Consumption Will Never Fill The Void". What does that mean? It means there just aren't enough donuts, or enough bags of chips, or enough alcohol or drugs, or Manolo Blahniks or Gucci handbags or big screen TVs or fancy sport cars in the whole damn world, to assuage that feeling of emptiness that so many people carry around with them these days - that feeling of "Is that all there is?" Is this all there is to life? This treadmill I'm on? If so, what's the point? And if winning the lottery isn't the answer, what is? Personally, I think it may have something to do with replacing wealth, accumulation, and consumption as your primary goals in life.

Let's talk a bit about the word "abundance." It seems to be popping up everywhere these days, especially in book titles. What does it mean? What is the difference between abundance and wealth? Well, according to my ancient Webster's, abundance can refer to wealth, but it can also mean "plenty." What does plenty mean? Plenty means fullness - enough to get the job done. Plenitude is the quality or state of being full. Completeness.

So, here's the thing. No amount of money can ever make you feel complete. Therefore, living the good life, an abundant life, is about figuring out just what does make you feel complete. It's different for each individual, but I think there are probably some commonalities as well. This blog is about my quest for an abundant life, but I'm hoping that by sharing my journey with you all, perhaps these stories will "get you to thinkin' ", about what it would take to fill your void.

P.S. Many thanks to zazzle.com for the above image.