Counterfeit Happiness

 "I believe the overwhelming majority of men ... are quite capable of horse sense, and a certain basic decency. But they are also weak, through sin, often unexamined. The function of mass advertising — the primary tool of modern innovation, whether in the service of politics or commerce — is to tamper with them: to arouse and exploit envy, pride, greed, wrath, gluttony, lust, and sloth, by the “scientific” mastery of temptation. It is to lead people astray from their own real interests."

This is a quote from an article I read recently, and it hit home.  Am I being tampered with - systematically and scientifically tempted and exploited?   Being led away from my own real interests?   

That's a tough question to answer if I don't have a clear picture of where my self interests truly lie.  What am I trying to achieve in this life? What goals am I chasing?

I think the stock answer to these questions is happiness.  My goal is to achieve happiness, to experience joy  - and not just any kind of happiness, I want a happiness and joy that is lasting and fulfilling.

OK, so my "real interests" are focused on achieving a lasting happiness that fills the hole in my heart that nothing else fills.  According to the quote above, I am being lead away from this focus by my brokenness that lies in envy, pride, greed wrath , gluttony, lust and sloth.  The first four (envy, pride, greed and wrath or anger) are all ego-centric vices in which I am comparing myself to others in hopes of being recognized as 'better' or 'worthy.' When I 'win' this competition, I get a jolt of happiness. The last 3 (gluttony, lust and sloth) are all in service to my individual carnal pleasures and/or comfort.  Just the mere partaking in these activities stokes happiness.

 But the quote is stating, and if I think about it my experience confirms,  that these forms of happiness are counterfeit - they do not last and they ultimately do not fulfill.  They provide a quick fix that fizzles away after a limited amount of time, and then once again I am on the gerbil wheel looking for the next hit of it.  They are not in my best self interest to pursue.

Yet this is exactly what our society today is offering in its daily messaging to me of what I should be chasing in life.  

So why do I fall for the bait again, and again and again?

Might it be because I haven't yet found true joy, the kind that can actually fill that hole in my heart - and so I go back again to the counterfeit just to get a glimpse of it, even if it is just a shadow of the real thing?

Are you on this wheel with me?