“Are these things really better than the things I already have? Or am I just trained to be dissatisfied with what I have now?”
― Lullaby
“We no longer live life. We consume it.”
―
The Meaning of Life?
If, as Thomas Hobbes said, “Life is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short”, then what are we to do in this world? Distract ourselves, of course, with drugs, alcohol, sex, gambling, food, video games, sports, work… and, yes, shopping!
We will feel better if we just buy the next, the latest and greatest, the most recent fashions, the newest iPhone, and so on.
But… maybe, just maybe, the only truly sane people in the world are those suffering from extreme neuroses and confined by those nice young men in their clean white coats to the local hospital psych ward, for they are the ones who truly understand in their bones what we humans are facing. To wit: that we are born, we grow old, we get sick, then we die.
So all of us “normies” out there doing our thing, staying busy with whatever activity (shopping!), are actually the ones who are crazy, for we refuse to acknowledge the ultimate and traumatic state of the human condition.
Who knows? Why are we here? Why does anything exist? Where do we go when we die? Does Life have any meaning at all? Yadda yadda yadda…
There isn’t much to be done about our Hobbesian situation or these perennial “questions not tending to edification“, so the answer has to be: Savor, seek out, and soak up those wonderful moments of joy, love, beauty, and connection. Live!
Or, we could just go shopping.
Some Images for Visual Consumption
For the cost of one Louis Vuitton handbag from their “Capucines Collection”, a small family could live quite comfortably for a month or two or three or four…
An unusual window reflection and juxtaposition. A found and captured image from 2017 that I have always liked, so I thought I’d throw it in here. What would the Mona Lisa think of it all? Or would she be in there herself, shopping for a lovely handbag to match her outfit?
This perfume outlet in downtown Barcelona was quite the sensory stimulation superstore. This was their sex toy section, spectacularly designed to hype up your hippocampus…
The rest of the store was just as visually titillating–buy, buy, buy!
Apparently, this brand is using Nature to sell their stuff?
Finally, a poster (60cm x 60cm) I made a few years ago of many of the businesses/brands you will still find along the ritzy Passeig de Gràcia in the center of Barcelona. Lots of opportunities to spend, spend spend!
