Hollowness is not our nature. But in the last few industrial decades, mindless consumerism has taken over our lifestyles. The demons of our time sell us shallow affluence, seducing us to wear masks which draw us further away from ourselves.

This is the discussion we need to be having right now. Mindless consumerism is killing us, killing our humanity and our planet. We need to cease trying to fill the holes in our souls with shiny stuff.

There are more authentic and joyful ways to live- which can also unburden our ecosystem, be equitable, ethical, just and sustainable.

We’re beset by aspirations bereft of vision; goals unsupported by values; individualism not grounded in community care. Let’s peel back these masks we’ve ended up wearing, so we can serve our deeper truths, and create a beautiful and wholesome world.

Harmony means creating a life in which every aspect of our being gets its attention, contributing and adding value to every other aspect – where our physical reality and spiritual reality enhance each other, work and play balance each other, mind and heart align. Harmonizing our lives is to balance the giving and the receiving; the simplicity and the grandeur; creating as much as consuming.

The most commonplace example is in our habits of consuming feeds, news, social media, shows, email and such technology. Technology, like almost all other things, is a good servant but a bad master. When we let it take over our life, which happens almost unconsciously today, it disconnects us from our own inner selves.

Here’s a simple practice that can have profound results: create before you consume. What if instead of doom scrolling, you take time each day to tune into yourself, and create your life from your soul? I once heard someone say: Art worth making is truth scraped from your marrow. What if you could cut down on some mindless consumption time, to delve into your deeper dimensions, and tap into that well of power inside, to heal yourself and heal the world? Find the nuggets of wisdom and beauty within, and then pass it onto the rest of the world? What if you have a hidden poem, a joyous song, a life-changing tale, a world-turning invention or a heart-pacifying revelation – inside you – just waiting for your attention? The world needs it. What if, instead of spending time buying those unnecessary new clothes, you spent time crafting a healthy body and strong mind that fit your soul, and make you radiant inside out? What if you forgo that extra car and spend that money on shelter for the poor? What if you replace that head-spinningly expensive watch or handbag with toys for children at the nearest orphanage?

The alternative consumption we need to commit to is not necessarily a form of belt-tightening or loss of pleasure. On the contrary, it is about finding deeper pleasure.

There are a lot of downsides to the ‘affluent American lifestyle’ that we’ve held up as a model to which all societies should aspire to. We’re so caught up in the work-and-spend cycle, the need for ostentation, and the insecurity it generates, which can be lifelong. This has a toll on our mental health, as well as on societal wellbeing. The consumer culture has today hit a roadblock due to the pandemic, and maybe, we should let it rest there. Rethink the ‘ideal life’ a bit. And tap into more lasting, sincere and satisfying forms of connection with ourselves and others.

The Dark Side of Minimalism

We can sometimes use beautiful concepts to reinforce ugly lies about righteousness and identity. We may fall into the trap of frugality to keep abundance at bay, and austerity as a form of self-punishment, or as a standard for judging others.

Can you imagine the world and its people without their wild colour, vibrant diversity and glorious grandeur? Just like simplicity, grandeur has a place in our lives. There are some days, playful ways, seasons, reasons – for the opulence to flow. Why? Because our spirits are free, our souls are infinite, abundance is a cosmic energy – and when the call of our soul directs us to it, we must go tango with it.

Elizabeth Gilbert best explains this in one of her talks. Have you ever just watched a bird someday, flitting around cheerfully, minding its own business? How does it make you feel, watching its free spirit? It does not try to save the world. But just by being itself, just by singing its own sweet song, it can put a smile on our faces, it can make our day, it can make the world a better place. All it does is follow its own nature. Just by doing this, the bird unconsciously participates in a symbiotic ecosystem, and does much for the environment and the planet. Not to mention how happy it makes us feel. Similarly, we best serve the world when we tune into our own true nature and live our calling from there, instead of veering vertiginously with external forces.

We each have a unique spiritual orientation, as personal as our fingerprint. We each have a dominant theme in this incarnation, a purpose to fulfil, a role to play. Based on this, we bring our own special energy combination of simplicity and grandeur to life. We can find this combination when we lead from our hearts, instead of head-tripping with the rat race. We each have these incredibly intricate mosaics for describing our individual differences. For each individual, there is a unique karmic predicament, a unique dharmic possibility. We have our own journey, an independent path that does not belong to anyone but us. The answer is to live consciously, led by our inner guidance than what the world is preaching to us.

That’s why this article is not about minimalism, nor capitalism. It is about finding YOUR deeper truth. It’s about learning not to be exhibitionistic, only because it will lift you in the eyes of people going through a spell of shallow mindedness. Its also not about making a monk out of yourself because there’s one fraction of people who condemn you to guilt for enjoying certain things. This is about listening to your heart for your own melody of harmony, your own balance of simplicity and grandeur. This intersection is different for each one of us, at different times in our lives. These differences are what make the world beautiful and delightful. We need to celebrate ourselves for our personhood, while also caring for each other as a society.

Exploitative and greedy capitalism is tapping our life force. So is guilt for living well. Connecting to our deeper truth and mindfulness are the most powerful vehicles for restoring our vitality.

The writer is Holistic Wellness Expert and Head of Public Relations at The/Nudge Foundation.