Drowning in Excess

My article "Waterlogged, Yet Still Drinking" is the featured "Starting Over" piece at NewsSip this week! Here is a snippet:

On my bookshelf sit thirteen paperback books I want to read. I know that with schoolwork and clubs and other commitments, I will be lucky to get through two of them by the end of the semester. And yet, there they sit. Waiting. I will lug them home with me, and when school starts again in the fall I know I will lug them — plus half-a-dozen new “must reads” I’ll pick up while browsing Barnes and Noble — back with me. Why? Because I need choices. If I didn’t have my thirteen books what would I use to fill their spaces?

In today’s world, everyone has their own personal library: laptop, printer, scanner, Internet access. There are dozens of other “essential” gadgets, as well: stereo systems, video games, home gyms, televisions, personal DVD players. And it isn’t enough anymore just to own these essential technological gadgets. There are always newer models, better versions, more expensive brands to upgrade to.

Drowning in excess makes it nearly impossible to fully enjoy the present moment. We can’t wait till we can afford a bigger house, or a newer car, or the latest gaming system. I can’t wait to finish the first of my thirteen books so I can move on to the next one. But why? Why can’t we just be content with what we have? Why are we always in such a rush, pushing forward, straining for the future?

Read the rest at http://newssipblogs.blogspot.com/2009/11/dallas-woodburn-starting-over-november.html