We chase after material goods, but because we habituate to them, getting more stuff doesn't provide lasting satisfaction. Psychologists call this the consumer treadmill. Hyperconsumerism drives manufacturing, carbon emissions, and climate change, so it does lasting damage to the environment.
We're always looking for new stimulation. We can get it "extensively" by acquiring more and more possessions, or "intensively" by enjoying what we already have to a greater degree. Mindfulness promotes stimulation and novelty by making everyday experience more intense.
Getting Off the Consumer Treadmill (2 min. 47 sec.)
Table of Contents
CORE GREEN PAGES
Love, Mindfulness and the Environment
Rachel Carson's Sense of Wonder
Overview of Seeing the Roses
The Consumer Treadmill
Attention to Emotions
Thoreau and the Bloom of the Present Moment
Mindful Hiking
Mindful Eating
Breath and Roses
Personal and Social Change
Love, Mindfulness and the Environment
Rachel Carson's Sense of Wonder
Overview of Seeing the Roses
The Consumer Treadmill
Attention to Emotions
Thoreau and the Bloom of the Present Moment
Mindful Hiking
Mindful Eating
Breath and Roses
Personal and Social Change