The Greed for Experiences
”You can never get enough of what you don’t really need.” D. Oaks
One of the hardest parts of the Forest Dweller years is realizing that I just don’t have the energy, the desire nor the will to continue doing many activities I used to enjoy.
Sam Harris has talked about the “first last time” which I discounted immediately after I heard it. Have I mentioned it can sometimes take years for me to let in someone else’s idea? According to a very accurate channeling a few years ago, stubborness is a characteristic that sometimes defines me.
In the Forest Dweller years, the first last times seem to be presenting themselves more and more- the last big event I will host, the last time I will fly half way around the world in a day, the last time running will be part of my exercise routine.
The other characteristic which defined me in this channeling is, much to my chagrin at the time, greed. This did not jibe at all! What? I had always seen myself as generous to a fault and very giving.
But this greed for experiences, many more than I actually need, or lately even want, is now coming into focus. The quote by Dallin Oaks comes to mind that “You can never get enough of what you don’t really need.”
When we are used to seeing ourselves in a certain way- engaged, active, interested- it is difficult when we start to see those parts of ourselves slip away.
It seems like the race/need to add experiences continues regardless of age or the number of extraordinary experiences I have already had. I have met Tito, Mohamed Ali and the Dave Clark Five. I have traveled through most of Europe, much of India, built a park in Turkey with a student group, spent 6 months going through Mexico in a VW van with my surfer boyfriend, led leadership groups in Belgium, Australia and Canada. Owned a large consulting company and a yoga studio (not at the same time). I know how to drive a tractor, a bulldozer and a backhoe and was one of the first women to graduate in Agriculture from Cal Poly.
Lately I have become more and more uncomfortable with what I am calling the drive to experience.
I am noticing that the overdoing is my downfall. The quiet voice of intuition has been drowned out in light of a gourmet meal, a fancy destination, a trip somewhere I have dreamed of going, a shiny dress I don’t need.
I am not the saying any of this is bad nor would I want to discourage anyone who is in the time of life where this is happening. It’s the OVERKILL of doing the patterns I used to enjoy that strongly impacts my body and my health.
This greed actually makes me sick now. This is the lesson I am digesting as a Forest Dweller.
It’s funny, but I recently returned from a long trip and am finding myself much more excited about and interested in planting the seedlings I started when I left- see below- than gazing again at the Ponte Vecchio in Florence. Go figure.
I am looking forward to taking quiet time for listening to my intuition this spring.
Thank you for commenting, liking and sharing this post. I love hearing your thoughts and insights- please comment if you are so inclined!
Very interesting Heidi. It is something to enjoy an experience directly, as that experience. Hah, I am so much more present for that!
Nothing wrong with meeting Nelson Mandela (meeting of course, when he was still alive, now it would just be weird). What can diminish the experience for me is the context I bring to it. My insecure obsessing, my exhausting need to be validated by the kinds of experiences I've had. Everyone can see my elevatedness, right? Well not me, I am MIA, adjusting my hair, looking for a mirror, scanning for a crowd reaction.
Why can't I have elevated experiences of secondary involvement in my life? Hmm.
Heidi, thank you for this article! I couldn’t agree more. The latest buzzword—“experiences”—has been marketed as an alternative to material pursuits. However, it’s just as bad, if not worse. It promotes running away from the here and now, disconnecting from what truly matters, and avoiding what needs to be faced. Ultimately, it’s about escape—and since “you can never get enough of what you don’t really need,” it becomes an endless chase, conveniently transformed into one of the biggest industries: the rush for experiences. Thank you for bringing our attention to it!