Dear Friends,
At the time of this writing, according to the news, Jeff Bezos owns two mega yachts, a 417 foot primary yacht which cost an estimated $500 million, and a second 246 foot yacht.
Why own a yacht, especially since many people are only on their yacht a short time out of the year?
What he and others get out of it, it seems to me, is they can walk around thinking, “I own a yacht! In fact, I own a freaking massive yacht, bitches.”
The thought is what matters most.
It makes them feel like a winner, somebody of importance, the top class of society. To feel this, they do not need to actually use the yacht. That is not the point.
The ownership of the yacht is simply permission to believe a thought — that is all.
But at the core, it seems to me, people want to feel like they have value. They want to know that they are worthy. But why not find that sense of worthiness through inner exploration instead of purchases and save $500 million?
This is not mean to dis Jeff Bezos (and I am not saying that I would not accept an invitation on his yacht!). While it may be easy to see this pattern in billionaires with yachts, we all likely have our own versions of this.
What do we each of us do to make ourselves feel worthy? When we feel unworthy, do we turn on Netflix, go on social media, or grab a joint or beer?
If we seek this from the outside, there is almost always someone with a bigger yacht, or more muscles, or more beauty, or more followers, or more intelligence. It never satiates.
As the saying goes, “You can never get enough of what you do not need.”
If we do know this, we can still purchase items and build things, but it is more out of meeting a need, and less in a endless attempt to feel relevant and important.
The planet may not be able to sustain a world of humans for much longer who do not know themselves.
Blessings,
SOREN
Wednesday: JOIN US with John and Julie Gottman on Fighting Right and Managing Challenges in Relationships.
RESERVE YOUR SPOT »»» (By Donation)
AND THIS FRIDAY Mindfulness in Nature Meditation Teacher Mark Coleman joins us for our Power of Presence Wisdom 2.0 Community.
Have a look at a Substack on this subject: "Ralph Nader and I are on it about enoughness/
That there should be some limit on avarice and accumulation": https://suzannetaylor.substack.com/p/ralph-nader-and-i-are-on-it-about. The last paragraph: "What a swansong for Nader to give such an inspiration to the corporate world that locks us into what late-stage capitalism, that runs to the advantage of those already advantaged, mires us in. The examples in the book, that show it doesn’t have to be that way, could give corporate leaders an aha that would initiate the massive turnaround we need, not only for our prosperity but for our very survival, and could see Nader redeeming himself from having lost us a good President to having gained us a workable world."