Substitutes

We’re all looking for substitutes. Since our world is not perfect and we have a twisted way of looking at ourselves we often confuse what we really need with what we think we want. Take a highly developed country like Sweden for example. It’s a terrific country in many ways; it’s peaceful, the nature is beautiful, we have free healthcare and most of us have a nice place to live. But why are so many people depressed? Why does a huge number "live their lives in quiet desperation"?* 

My firm belief is that we substitute everything necessary in life: relationships, openness, emotions, empathy, love and spirituality with concrete things like clothes, fashion, make-up, gardening, home-styling and food. Not that there’s anything wrong with either of these things; I’ve claimed more than once that food is the meaning of life. J The problem is that making a priority of pursuing these things doesn’t make us truly happy.

Living in the truth gives you a different perspective, and in some ways, no matter where we live, we are protected against becoming too blinded by concrete things, the here and now. However, we’re still influenced by the culture we live in, since we’re living in the middle of it. My opinion is that we have a very hard time defending ourselves against the materialistic way of thinking that permeates our nation. We ogle our neighbors and note that they have a fancier car, a flashier house or more exclusive clothes than we do. Since we don’t want to stand out from the crowd too much we – perhaps unconsciously – make the decision to even out the plain field by trying to acquire the same possessions. As a result we might have to work longer hours, forcing us to cut down on our time with family and friends. I might sound too harsh, but unfortunately I think that in the larger cities in Sweden, like Stockholm and Gothenburg, we tend to be a little too worried about our appearance even as witnesses.

Avoiding becoming excessively wrapped up in the greedy and selfish way of thinking is the prime challenge to us in this cold, Nordic land filled with so many opportunities. I just hope that most of us will be able to endure this tribulation. And even though we are already displaying the vital Christian love we could be even more attentive to other's needs and cut down on the anxiety that comes from worrying too much of what other people think of us.

*a quote from John Keating in the movie Dead Poets Society. Keating is paraphrasing a quote from the19^th century poet, Henry D. Thoreau who wrote: "the mass of men lead lives in quiet desperation".