Having and Being

I love the CSI shows. One particular episode of CSI Las Vegas (aired 10/21/2010, Season 11: Episode 05: House of Hoarders) had a really great dialogue between Dr Ray Langston and Nick Stokes (played by Lawrence Fishbourne and George Eads respectively) about how people view material things. Here is the dialogue (sorry if it is not exactly verbatim)".

People are obesseed w/ possessions, he believed that human beings had 2 basic orientations, "having" and "being". People with the "having orientation" seek to acquire and possess things, property and even people. People with the "being orientation" focus on the experience. They derive meaning from the exchanging, engaging and sharing with other people.

Unfortunately we have a culture today of "commercialism" which is doomed and driven by the "having orientation" which leads to dissatisfaction and emptiness. We need to remember in 1960 there was no such thing as public storage in America, today there is more than 2 billion square feet dedicated to it.

Things don't always have to mean everything, nor do they have to be devoid of meaning, they are just one of the ways of which we can experience and enjoy life as long as they don't get in the way of living.

HAVING: Buying more that what you really need because the "act" of buying makes you happy. This is normally a temporary happiness and lasts short term.

BEING: Enjoying the experience of going out shopping with a friend, giving your friend a nice gift. This feeling lasts longer because you derive pleasure in the experience rather than the object itself.