What is Materialism?

The socially acceptable can seldom escape materialism. That which makes us acceptable to society and to ourselves mostly involves that which we have outside of ourselves, not inside. It is strange how that which we can never use anywhere else but in this world in this lifetime, becomes so precious to us, whereas that which will last us an eternity is not often valued enough. We may fool ourselves into thinking that we spend time and money for a good cause when we do uplifting workshops and go into the mountains with gurus. When we stop lying to ourselves we see that mostly we go to these things because they promise us that we will become more successful. More in control of our lives and even superior to our brothers because suddenly we are so special that only us see the light of the revelation. Even these 'holy' motives come down to materialism; it is just of a different kind. We have this never ending need to possess more than the next man, to somehow stand out from the crowd (so much for humility) to feel special. We heartbreakingly tell ourselves that we want all these things so we can help the poor, or show our love for our children with gifts. How sadly mistaken we are. When we become one with the universe and its energies we possess more than we could ever dream of. We have more to give than we can ever accumulate in a bank account. Something no stock market crash or materialistic guru can ever give or take.