The consumerism bubble.. goes pop

I'm old enough to remember playing outside for the majority of the time and grew up with few luxuries. This gave me a leg up in my love for holistic living and my disdain for excess.

Much to my mother's dismay, I declutter every 6 months. In all aspects of my life. I rarely receive promotional emails, my camera roll has less than 1000 pictures at any given time and my social media is cleared up pretty frequently. I get rid of items I haven't worn in a while and seeing people with 1000+ notifications gives me anxiety. I don't have OCD, I think this is a very normal way to live [she says] 😵‍💫

The Chinese practise of feng shui is used to create spaces to attract positive energy flow, balance and harmony. It takes a holistic approach to our living spaces - from the materials used, the arrangements and the clutter. I'm almost certain it's a universal female experience to re-arrange our rooms every few months. It clears our mind, makes us feel fresh and ready to start anew. It almost feels instinctual. We should be actively feng shui'ing all areas we take up space, and often.

The less we have, the less we worry

There's a correlation between clutter in our physical space and the clutter in our mind. It says a lot about how impulsive we are, how we address responsibilities, problems and even our emotional receptivity. The more we avoid, the larger the issues become. And vice versa. Keeping on top of our physical environment can indicate how we show up in other areas of our life. I'm not advocating for minimalism in the boring sense, but I believe it's important to be more intentional about our environment, what we own and where it comes from.

This also translates to our food consumption. Islam not only advocates for a halal diet, but also ensures that the income used to purchase the food and the way it landed on our plate was via ethical means. Controlling one's food intake is a gateway to controlling other habits and is one of the initial steps when traversing the spiritual path. Ramadan is a perfect example of how we detox from a multitude of things - showing us how little we actually need and where our attachments lie.

Our Online Presence

Globalisation and the internet has caused a huge rush in consumerism in a way that's never been felt before. Previous generations weren't as spoilt as us in how quickly they received their goods, the variety of food offered, how frequently they travelled and how easily they had access to people from across the globe. And all of this can be done from a device that fits neatly in the palm of our hands, regardless of our socio-economic background. With the majority of our lives now being online, it's arguably more important to be intentional about how we consume online content. What we watch or read, who we follow and what we choose to spend our time on moulds us into who we are - our mindsets, ideologies and even our self worth and standards. This can either have a positive or detrimental effect on our lives, especially spiritually.

Although we live in a digital world, it doesn't excuse the fact that our screen time is embarrassingly high - more so from entertainment than competing obligations. We're bombarded with shallow trends, reality tv and entertaining memes based on what we interact with for more than a few seconds. We've lost the art of critical thinking and we're spiralling into brain rot. One minute we're watching pure talent, the next we're knees deep in debunked conspiracies. We're nosy, bored and quite frankly not motivated enough to do.. anything. With everything being a few clicks away, 2x speed becoming the norm, a process which took days being turned into a 30 second reel and the gamification industry booming - we've become accustomed to instant gratification, entertainment as a form of education and the attention span the size of a 🫛

If the issue isn't consumerism, it's voyeurism. We follow strangers we meet once in public toilets, events or through mutuals without a thought. We're missing the spontaneity of life, where we can serendipitously meet people again without watching their every move [whilst actively not communicating, weird huh]. There's beauty in meeting someone once, having a moment that we can fondly reflect on and never reaching out to them again. Leaving acquaintances as acquaintances - knowing you have no intention to deepen the relationship. To me, it's another form of clutter 🙊

And with few social platforms used to actually socialise, we have to question what the point of it all is?

I'm no economist, but due to the recent political and economic state.. of the world, I'd hardly be surprised if this bubble soon pops. New data centres the size of Central Park being built, bands cancelling tours, mass layoffs and the 'cost of living crisis' being a household term are key indicators of this. AI is simultaneously contaminating and guzzling our water supply at an insanely rapid rate that we may have no choice but to cut the cord. Long gone are the days where daddyo could sustain his entire family financially. Now couples are struggling to survive on two incomes.. with no children. The class divide is widening and we may not be able to afford the luxuries we once had. With sustainability being the core theme, our physical and online consumption may well dwindle as a result and force us back into physical communities. But do we now have the emotional capacity to build these communities after years of individualism?

Interestingly, we're seeing this shift by choice and in real time. There's a clear effort to move away from an excessive reliance on technology and the online silos that we've become accustomed to - they don't seem to be cutting it anymore. With an upward trend in physical media, long waiting lists for allotment spaces, paint and sip sessions, and pop up craft and game nights, we're noticing a massive shift from buying things to buying experiences - alongside others. And not necessarily for the gram, but because there's a soul crushing need for it. The therapeutic desire to build things with our hands and be apart of a community will always loop back around when we most need it. Our time spent bingeing should be replaced with grounded community and holistic learning. We should be using social media as a tool to build in person communities in parallel to online spaces [which we're ironically craving].

We should be creating more than we're consuming

Intentional habits build long term success that only seek to benefit us. Consuming to create should be done for inspirational purposes, otherwise it becomes procrastination and can easily paralyse us. My best work has usually come from an itch I had when I was bored - which is often times a catalyst for creativity. Downtime is important for our sanity, but that's all it should be - downtime and not a waste of time. The clutter in our mind is what makes us feel heavy, tired and lack drive to live life outside of work.

Stop living life passively. We get to choose who and what occupies our time and space. Sooo, turn the notifications off, delete the apps every once in a while and learn something new. At the very least, seeking knowledge from the cradle to the grave keeps our brains stimulated and prevents cognitive decline. This grounded presence allows us to see the barakah in our time, increases our productivity whilst feeling less lethargic.

Remove the distractions > to have the capacity to build > to become receptive to openings:

• Takhalli: clearing one's soul of vice
• Tahalli: filling one's soul with virtues
• Tajali: the direct result - receiving the light of God through presence and deep reflection

Next time you lack lustre, look at what you give most of your attention to and.. shake it off.

ly, byeee x