We spend a lot of our lives buying things to fix feelings.
The expensive car with the right badge is not really about the car. It is about wanting to make a statement and be admired. The new clothes are not really about the clothes. They are about wanting to feel attractive, to feel seen. The endless entertainment is not really about entertainment. It is about wanting our minds and hearts to feel occupied, alive.
The needs underneath are real. Identity. Belonging. Respect. Love. Something meaningful to do.
The problem is that we try to meet these needs with things. And things can never quite reach them.
So the wanting never stops. We buy, and before long, the longing returns.
Because we were answering the wrong question all along.
What we needed was never out there to be purchased.