You Are Not What You Own - texto para esta semana

You Are Not What You Own

Consumerism is a never-ending race that keeps us unsatisfied. When we buy a new car or a new house that we believe will make us happy, we soon find out that those things only boost our happiness for a short period of time and we are soon back at the level where we were before the purchase. Damn, maybe I just need a more expensive car, we then think.

I remember the times when I was a child and saw a cool toy on the TV. I kept begging that toy from my parents, and I was sure that getting the toy would make me perfectly happy. I would never need anything again if I would just get that toy. And usually I got the toy I wanted so badly, but after one week I could not even remember the toy anymore. It is not much different when we are full-grown adults – only the toys are much more expensive.

Let me tell you something: You are not what you own! Even though this is what the advertisers keep telling us, it is simply not true. The need for buying expensive stuff just to raise one’s social status is caused by low self-esteem and wrong beliefs. You will never win that game, because there is always someone who has a more expensive car or a bigger house than you do, so why even bother competing? Besides, the expensive cars and houses you see on the streets are usually not even technically owned by the people who use them but banks instead. There’s no reason to be jealous of huge mortgages.

The result of the consumerism is that people are working in jobs they hate, hoping to find the happiness by being able to buy something nice when the next salary comes. We are conditioned animals that keep on trying to find the happiness from a new gadget, realizing time and time again that it was only a short burst of gratification we found. It does not differ much from the behaviour of drug addicts.

I am not saying that you should not buy anything. That’s not my point. We need to have a place to live in, and some of us need a car to drive to and from work. We also need food and clothes to keep us alive. However, there’s a huge difference between our genuine needs and unnecessary wants. Buying only the things you really need, is called enoughism. I believe that enoughism will be the next big movement after more people realize how consumerism makes us feel miserable in the long run.

Post Published: 31 May 2010
Author: admin
Found in section: General Happiness, Life Purpose
Disponível em: http://happinesshunters.com/why-consumerism-kills-your-happiness-and-how-to-get-rid-of-it/
Acesso em: 08/04/2012



ATIVIDADES PARA COMPREENSÃO DO TEXTO

1. As frases a seguir não são necessariamente traduções literais, mas representam afirmações presentes em cada parágrafo do texto. Numere-as de acordo com o parágrafo em que se apresentam.

( ) O autor conta episódios de sua infância e faz uma analogia entre os brinquedos que desejava enquanto criança e os “brinquedos” que desejamos quando somos adultos.
( ) O consumo é necessário na vida do ser humano, mas há uma grande diferença entre aquilo que realmente necessitamos e aquilo que apenas desejamos.
( ) O autor afirma que a cada nova aquisição pensamos estar adquirindo um produto que nos fará mais felizes, mas logo depois percebemos que essa satisfação é passageira e que logo voltamos ao estado em que estávamos antes da compra.
( ) As pessoas trabalham naquilo que detestam para poderem comprar alguma coisa legal com o próximo salário, achando que assim encontrarão a felicidade.
( ) Apesar das propagandas tentarem sempre te convencer do contrário, você não é o que você tem. Além disso, sempre haverá alguém que tem mais que você, portanto, não vale a pena tentar competir.

2. Faça a correspondência entre as frases e suas respectivas traduções:

a) Consumerism is a never-ending race that keeps us unsatisfied.
b) It is not much different when we are full-grown adults – only the toys are much more expensive.
c) Let me tell you something: You are not what you own!
d) There’s no reason to be jealous of huge mortgages.
e) We are conditioned animals that keep on trying to find the happiness from a new gadget.
f) I am not saying that you should not buy anything. That’s not my point.

( ) Nós somos animais condicionados que se mantêm tentando encontrar a felicidade a partir de um novo gadget.
( ) Deixe-me dizer uma coisa: Você não é o que você possui!
( ) Não é muito diferente quando somos adultos plenamente crescidos - apenas os brinquedos são muito mais caros.
( ) Não há nenhuma razão para ter inveja de hipotecas enormes.
( ) Eu não estou dizendo que você não deve comprar nada. Não é esse o meu ponto.
( ) O consumismo é uma corrida sem fim que nos mantém insatisfeitos.