A few days ago at a meeting we were talking about how a large income is no guarantee that people have savings or are financially secure. Two guys said that high income earners like doctors & lawyers have to live in posh neighborhoods & drive fancy cars because that is what’s expected of them & that people will look down on them if they don’t.
I disagreed. I said they don’t HAVE to live in a posh neighborhood, buy a BMW or anything expensive, they just choose to do that. People sometimes are just too conscious of status symbols. ”But Den, wouldn’t you look down on a doctor who drives a Toyota or lives in an average neighborhood?” I said I don’t really care about those things. What matters to me is that if I’m sick, he can help me get well. If I or my loved ones had cancer or a serious illness (knock on wood), the first thing I’m going to ask is not “Where do you live?” or “What car do you drive?” but “What medical procedures would you recommend?” His competence is what matters to me, not where he lives or what the make & model of the car he’s driving.
One of my favorite lessons when I was teaching conversational English at Nova is the one on status symbols. There’s a sentence that states “Many young women love to buy brand name bags. I’ve never understood why.”
I’ve never understood it either. I mean, there’s nothing wrong with brand name clothes, shoes or what have you every once in a while, but I personally am not willing to spend $300 on a tiny bag when I can buy a good sized one for $20 or less at Target or Wal-Mart.I am turned off by people who flaunt or brag about expensive stuff they have, not realizing that it’s just stuff, just things To me, it shows how shallow or weak their sense of self-worth is.
If your self-worth is tied to material things, achievements, or your looks, all of which are ephemeral, then I think reality will someday deal a big blow to these things you value, & only then will you truly realize that there is more to life than these.
I’m glad I learned early on that the rat race & the pursuit of happiness in the form of material things is not for me. I’m at heart a simple girl with simple needs… as long as I have family, friends, a good book to read now & then, a job that I enjoy doing, & get to travel & be out in nature, I’m content. Everything else is just icing on the cake.
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I have mixed feelings about the whole thing. It’s true that material things does not define who the person is, but more than likely, it’s not the person owning those things put meanings other than “i like to have it” versus other people looking at them. Material things shouldn’t define someone else’s worth, however, we have all the right to spend our hard earned money to whatever makes us “happy”. I won’t ask a doctor about his car or where he lives because they don’t matter to me, however, if his car breaks down because it’s an old one and he has the means to buy a “better” one so he won’t be late seeing me — then that’s what matter. Material things won’t define a person, it will help a person to function better. Just my opinion.
I agree, Floyd, material things don’t define a person’s worth. The conversation I had several days ago with a group of guys, a few men were of the opinion that people would look down on someone because of what the person has or where the person lives, especially if the person in question is a doctor, lawyer or some other high status profession. My point was that sometimes people place too much emphasis on status symbols, when they are just merely things. But I don’t agree that material things will help a person function better. For example, a car is a car, it’s something that gets you from point A to point B. As long as it’s in good condition, it doesn’t matter if it’s a 2000 Honda Accord or the latest Lamborghini.
Thanks Floyd for dropping by to read & comment
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