The want of plenty

Assalaamu Alaikum! 

We are living in a bizarre time, are we not? We are in the age of abundance, too many choices and multiple wish lists. A time where we purchase things with the click of a button, where its possible to get things customized just for you. Consumerism has slowly changed our mindsets and behaviours. There are now themes for every celebration and an obsession to make things “Instagram worthy”, whatever that means. There is a new “trend” every few months, if not weeks, which makes people change their wardrobes, accessories and lifestyle accordingly. The exponential growth of e-commerce and access to internet worldwide has made us fall into a rabbit hole of mindless overconsumption.

The scare of scarcity

We are living in the world of plenty. This world which keeps itself alive when we feel that we are missing out if we don’t make certain purchases, a world which has normalized “retail therapy”. The want of plenty keeps us stuck in a scarcity mindset. We hardly take time to enjoy what we have, before we think “what next?”

So we are constantly chasing. We are living a life of pursuing and being a victim of our own desires

Do you remember the last time you bought something you wanted? How long did you keep an eye on it? Did you plan its purchase or did you buy it right away because “its really important”? For how many hours, days or months did the excitement of the new product last before it all faded and you started thinking about buying something else?

We are made to think that happiness is elusive and we attain it by getting more things. The truth is, moving to a bigger house, buying the latest products or consuming more is not the answer. Happiness is not a purchase away, its much closer.

Among the few

When Umar bin al-Khattab radi allahu `anhu (may God be pleased with him) was walking in the market, he passed by a man who was supplicating, “O Allah, make us of Your ‘few’ servants! O Allah make us of Your ‘few’ servants!”

So ‘Umar said to him, “Where did you get this du`a’ (supplication) from?” And the man said, “Allah in His Book says ‘And few of My servants are grateful.'(Qur’an 34:13)” So ‘Umar wept and admonished himself, “The people are more knowledgeable than you, O Umar! O Allah make us of Your ‘few’ servants.”

The antidote to always being in the state of wanting more things is appreciation for what we have. Its being grateful rather than seeking gratification. Its knowing that we are already so blessed and living lives that thousands only dream of. Its realizing that there may be millions who are willing to switch places with us, wanting to live the life that we try to perfect with more things. Someone who is looking at our lives, who is not as fortunate as we are, wants the things we take for granted daily.

The truth is, we all are consumers throughout our lives, we just need to be more mindful of our habits. Just like any other area of our lives, our nafs plays a huge role when we make financial decisions too. If we let our nafs take over and make the decisions for us, will they be the best financial decisions for us in the long term?

Let us be among people who want what we have, not those who are mindlessly trying to have all we want.

A quote I want to share with you

“If you are not content today, there is nothing you can buy tomorrow to change that” – Joshua Becker

Jazakallah khair for reading. I would love to hear your thoughts on this. If you found this beneficial, please do share with your loved ones.

Until next time,

Samar