The Need...For Greed: The inner mess of excess

One of the first words out of all of our mouths besides "Mama" or "Juice", is the word "Mine". It's a word that we all learn to use to describe something that is of value to us, or something that really has no value other than the fact that as a child, something made us feel strong like a big person, and nothing makes a child feel stronger than the ability to claim possession of something. When we said "Mine" as a child, we finally had control in a world where we had no control, because we were told what to do, when and how to do it, and stopped from doing other things. So being able to say mine was a rare treat because it gave us a rare sense of power, and control, and even at that young of an age, in human beings that is rocket fuel for self esteem. As we get older possessions, and accumulations become essential as we are told to "Get" this, "Have" that, and that we must "Acquire" things in order to not only function in society, but to be accepted into it. We are bombarded with hidden, and not so hidden messages daily that say if you don't have a certain something, then you are less of an individual. So adapt the concept of "Mine" and plow through anyone that stops you from accumulating. The manifestation of this concept for many becomes one word, and one word only..Greed.

Greed is always one step behind most of us, as we are all guilty of accumulating just for its own sake. We take more than we actually need, because we are in the mindset of either running out, with the inability to replenish, or that someone will take that something away. Human beings are the only animal that develop the concept of mortality, so the idea of greed comes into play because people tend to believe that living life to the fullest requires having "stuff". Whether that "stuff" be money, material things, power, or where they live, the brainwashing is begun at a young age, and quite a few of us fall into the trap of "Mine". Because "Mine" means "Not yours" and what's mine is just that. In order for some to believe they have worth, they must have as much of "Theirs" as possible. The more they can get of theirs means that their lives are worth more. And this permeates into all avenues of their thinking. When it does, it just doesn't matter what aspect it is for that person, more becomes essential, and the feeling of getting that "more" leads to satisfaction. Not only satisfaction, but some insatiable lust where nothing seems to satisfy that individual. They must have the latest this, the greatest that, purchase more than they can possibly consume, and waste more than most people consume, just because they can, and they feel that they should not have to share a minutia of something that they have because everyone should according to them have the same mentality.

I am not talking about the desire to provide a home for ones self, or the pride of providing for ones family, or the goal of having a good job..That is not what I am referring to at all, because there is a distinct difference between supplying ones self because of personal need, and pathological acquisitions that go completely overboard. Greed turns people into sharks who smell blood in the waters, and will trample over anything and everyone to get something that they really don't need, but justify it by saying that it is their right to have it. There is only so much that a person can use, whether it be money, resources, land, food, or just personal items, but the person who is a slave to greed doesn't see it that way, and gets very insulted when it is suggested that they have enough already. Greed is a disease that really has no cure because acquiring becomes the gauge for happiness, and that euphoria of having and hoarding only lasts for so long until it has to be fed again. The true happiness that comes from existence is never obtained by the greedy individual, because existence doesn't define them. The word "Mine" does.

It's every person's right to be able to obtain what they want in life, and I won't begrudge anyone for trying to obtain whatever it is that they feel makes them happy. What I have a hard time with is the fact that most people who are slaves to greed, do all kinds of things to step over individuals who are helpless in their wake, who are in the eyes of the greedy one "in the way" of their progress. They will also deceive, lie, and manufacture deflections from themselves so that while others are preoccupied with pending situations, and looking at shiny objects, they can figure out just how to obtain something for themselves that is really unnecessary but acquiring, and having more, is the drug of their choice.

This is the reality of the world we live in. Greed is not limited to one group of people or one type of person. No one is immune to moments of greed, but what you can avoid is being a slave to it. It would be a wonderful world if everyone just took what they needed, or obtained just enough where they could function in whatever capacity they wished, but as it is, there are those where enough is just not enough, and the acquisition of more begets the desire for even more. And it is the concept of more that makes them feel somewhat immortal, and powerful. You can't take anything with you when you die, but greed somehow makes you feel that you are defying life's odds while you are here. The unforeseen price is that you are just creating a mess for yourself, as your existence depends upon actions, whereas people who are not slaves to greed can live, and not merely exist. And to them living, and breathing, and admiring the world and people around them, while trying to be good and honest is the greatest reward ever. Do they need things to exist, and live? Yes, but those ideas of what they need for themselves and their families are more based in the reality of usage, rather than storage.

My point about this blog is to point out that greed is a negative condition (or vice) that has caused more chaos in history than any other of the "7 cardinal sins" all because it always revolves around the action of taking something that has the word "Mine' attached to it, even if it wasn't yours to begin with. Because if it wasn't yours, it belonged to someone else. And we all know what happens when two entities claim ownership of something. Someone wants to take, and someone has to defend. It's harsh, it's never ending, it's powerful, and it cannot be stopped no matter how hard we all try. It's greed, and for some people, it's what's for dinner..
And it all starts with the word.."Mine".