You owe it to yourself. This is the proverb of the one who clutches the good things - money, time, pleasures - tightly to oneself, surrendering nothing. The reward system is built in and functions smoothly. The consumer mentality, on this principle, plays into the hand of the myriad industries eager to cater to every desire and turn a profit. The ego is at the center of the world, firmly ensconced, like a spider jealously guarding its web and drawing everything in.
What this mentality reveals is greed, that most profound and insatiable desire of the human heart. But hidden deep within the damning dictum is the echo of Augustine's cry: 'Our hearts are made for you, O Lord, and they are restless until they rest in you.' Nothing so reveals the true destiny of the human spirit as this insatiable quest for more and more. This most powerful of all human instincts leads, if we will but lift our eyes, toward the Infinite Love which we do, indeed, 'owe' to ourselves. - Hilary Ottensmeyer, osb
What this mentality reveals is greed, that most profound and insatiable desire of the human heart. But hidden deep within the damning dictum is the echo of Augustine's cry: 'Our hearts are made for you, O Lord, and they are restless until they rest in you.' Nothing so reveals the true destiny of the human spirit as this insatiable quest for more and more. This most powerful of all human instincts leads, if we will but lift our eyes, toward the Infinite Love which we do, indeed, 'owe' to ourselves. - Hilary Ottensmeyer, osb
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