Where Do You Want to Go Today?

Where do you want to go today?
--Microsoft ad campaign

Think about the advertisements that you see every day—“Get a brand new car with no money down!” “This pill will help you to shed that unsightly bulge and get you ready for the swimsuit season!” “I made $25k last month working from home 3 hours a week!” “The Jack LaLanne Power Juicer will help your family to live healthier, more active lives on only pennies a day!” And so on. It is estimated by some that the average city dweller is exposed to 3000-5000 advertisements per day, a fact that both astounds and scares me. We have at our fingertips access to fulfillment of any conceivable desire, urge, or interest.

Think of the common thread that unites virtually all advertisements—every single one of them appeals to our obsession with ourselves. This product or service will in some way make you happier, more fulfilled, richer, more famous, and so on; in other words "this" product is the golden ticket to the life that you’ve always wanted. Yet as we all well know, such claims are rarely if ever fulfilled. Things just never seem to measure up to all the hype. So we live in a world where we are constantly pressed to acquire the newest gadget, get a better job, lose more weight, become more sexy—and all of this simply leaves us more and more empty—full of disappointment and unfulfilled promises.

Perhaps even more telling is the fact that we have entire websites, television channels, publications, and news segments dedicated to nothing more than celebrity gossip. What is our fascination with the lives of the rich, famous, beautiful, and powerful? I think that it might just be in part due to this deep-seated desire to achieve lasting happiness and fulfillment—I think we identify with them at some level. We may recognize that we lack the ability or resources to achieve this happiness, but if anyone can do it, they can. Deep down, we are rooting for them because we want to believe that our dreams and desires really can come true.

So the question then becomes—why is this the case? Why is it that we are more capable than ever of acquiring anything our heart desires, yet those things once we have them leave us with little more than more desire? How can we be surrounded by more stuff and people than ever, yet still be so lonely?