The Ultimate Context

Why materialism isn't what you think it is and where the true source of all value lies

“I am not a materialistic person by nature and have a hard time adapting to society and its shallow consumerist values. As someone whom I suspect is of a similar mind frame, what are some of the ways you have learned to deal with living in this society that is so obsessed with materialism?”

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For me, there are few joys that can compare with the joy of witnessing a blank page. Every essay I have ever written has begun the same way. With a blank page. Sometimes it is also with a blank mind that I begin writing, and sometimes it is with a mind bursting with ideas. But the blank page is the constant. It is infinite in its potential. The potential for wisdom, the potential for error, the potential for inspiration, the potential for despair - all coexist. Every story that has ever been written by humankind, began with that same blank page - whether a piece of paper, a stone tablet or a word processor. There is no limit to the kinds of content that can fill its space. The blank page provides the ultimate context for that content to manifest. It is the space within which each and every one of these stories unravel…

My life is also a story. One that is unfolding in real-time. The content of that story changes…is always evolving - sometimes it moves in a predictable manner and sometimes features sudden and unexpected twists. Yet, beneath the unfolding narrative remains that same blank page, unchanged - this here and now - the crucible within which it all manifests.

Yes, we live in a materialistic world - a world that is preoccupied with consuming objects, technology and services, a world driven by an insatiable desire to possess. Yet, I will challenge you to inquire more deeply into what that word ‘materialistic’ means. A superficial understanding defines materialism as an obsession with “things”. Objects, gadgets, money, houses, cars, food, clothes - resources that represent power, status and security within the social hierarchy. Materialistic people, then, tend to be those who perceive and derive value from possessing things.

Yet, as a writer, my definition of materialism is broader than that. The way I see it, the ‘material’ of our life stories extends beyond just the physical matter and objects we interact with. It encompasses all the content of our lives. It encapsulates not only the physical but also the mental, the emotional and the social dimensions of our lives. In other words, I define materialism as a preoccupation with the content of our lives. And this content can assume various forms.

As you reflect on your own life, you will see that there are different kinds of content that feature in your life narrative - some of which you prioritize and some of which you don’t. The objects in your life - the house, the car, the bank account, the toys are but one form of content. Your relationships - professional, personal, social, familial, communal and environmental are another form of content. Your thoughts, your opinions, your emotions, your beliefs, your reason, values and principles are forms of content as well. The mundane everyday activities you engage in are a form of content. The significant and unexpected life events that occur are also a form of content.

And so, we are all materialists of one kind or another. You are no less a materialist if you don’t care for possessions and instead choose to focus on prioritizing your relationships with people. It just means that you are oriented towards a different form of content, of a more relational kind, that generates a different kind of value for you. Similarly, if you are drawn towards introspecting inwardly into your own thoughts, emotions, beliefs and attitudes - this introspective nature does not imply you are not driven by materialism. It simply means that the kind of ‘material’ that motivates you is not physical but mental in nature.

Now, it is true that within materialism there is a hierarchy of value that ascends from the external to the internal, from the extrinsic to the intrinsic. Because every form of content requires a context within which to exist. Just as words exist within the context of sentences, sentences exist within the context of paragraphs, paragraphs within the context of chapters and chapters within the context of the story. Without that context, the content itself bears little meaning. Thus, there are levels of materialism - each providing context for the next, ascending towards the source from which all value is derived.

The most superficial layer is the one which aligns with the popular definition of the word ‘materialistic’ i.e. the love of things. The metric for people who are driven by this form of materialism is to measure the value of life and self in terms of how many possessions they are able to accumulate. For someone who is driven by the need to accumulate wealth above all else - a diamond ring would be considered an object of great value. Yet, what they don’t realize is that that diamond actually holds no intrinsic value of its own. It’s value only exists within a greater context - that of our societal relationships. If you were to be shipwrecked on an abandoned island with a diamond ring, it would be worthless to you. But the moment you are in the presence of other human beings that diamond suddenly attains worth. That is because it is the power of our interpersonal relationships that provides the context within which that diamond can shine.

A person driven by accumulating possessions may one day come to see that all this accumulated content of their lives is worthless because their value is derived from human relationships - which is where the real power lies. They have now graduated to a deeper level of materialism i.e. the love of relationship.

The metric for people who are driven by this layer of materialism is to measure value in terms of how much benefit, how much good and how much contribution they are able to provide others in relationship. Whether a business leader with her employees, a church pastor with his congregation, a father with his kids, a shopkeeper with her customers - each of these individuals measures the value of life and self in terms of how successful their relationships appear to be.

However, what they don’t realize is that these relationships do not possess inherent value. Their value exists within a greater context - a foundation of shared beliefs, values, ideals and emotions. The relationship between the church pastor and his congregation rests upon a foundation of deep religious faith. The relationships between the business leader and her employees are facilitated through a shared faith in the corporate vision, mission, values and culture. The relationships between the father and his kids are facilitated through the filial affection and the emotional security they provide one another. The relationship between the shopkeeper and her customers is built upon a shared love of the brand which represents product quality and customer service excellence.

In other words, there is a coherent mental substrate comprising thoughts, emotions, beliefs, values, attitudes, identity and worldview that provides the context within which these relationships can manifest and flourish. A person who is of unsound mind, does not have a coherent self-identity, lacks an internal ethical standard or struggles to regulate their emotions will have a hard time building and maintaining relationships with others. Thus, state of mind acts as the context within which the content of our human relationships manifest.

When a person perceives this deeply, they may shift their focus to a deeper level of materialism i.e. the love of mind.

People who are motivated by this layer of materialism prioritize the contents of their minds above other forms of content. The metric by which such people measure the value of life and self is in terms of knowledge - how much they have learned, grown, evolved or advanced. They are curious about their thoughts, they are concerned about their emotional landscapes. They crave knowledge. They are willing to study their assumptions, beliefs, ideals, values and principles - to adopt new ones if they find theirs are outdated and do not serve them. Such people also tend to be creative - experimenting with their intuitions, inspirations, moods and musings to generate more abstractions - scientific or artistic. Philosophers, physicists, painters and inventors are materialists who are motivated by the love of mind and derive their value from its content.

Whether motivated by the love of things, the love of relationships or the love of mind - no one’s life is solely focused in any one arena of content. We each have our primary areas of interest, our secondary areas and our tertiary interests. For example, one may be motivated predominantly by the love of mind, strongly by relationships and only rudimentarily by things. Yet, one cannot completely ignore any one of these arenas without adversely affecting the other because they are inter-related and interdependent.

Still, these are ALL materialistic concerns, for together they comprise the ‘material’ of one’s life narrative.

So, when you say that we live in a materialistic society - this is true. But only because we are all materialists. The only difference between you and the majority may lie in the brand of materialism you value and are orientated towards, as opposed to theirs.

Now, I mentioned earlier how each layer of content only derives its value within the context of an even deeper layer. Objects derive their value within the context of our relationships. Relationships derive their value within the context of the beliefs, emotions and identities programmed within our minds.

Yet even the content of the mind has no real and inherent value when taken out of the context within which it manifests.

And that context is being. The ultimate context.

For the here and now is the crucible within which the contents of our conscious experiences arise and are brought to life. It is that eternal blank page which provides the context for every word, every sentence, every paragraph and every chapter in the stories of our lives to claim their rightful existence. It is the source from which all the ‘material’ of our life stories - the objects, relationships and mental events derive value.

When a person’s awareness naturally begins to orient towards an awareness of being, then and only then can one say, one is moving away from a primarily materialistic focus.

I want to caution you here, that I do not mean that one makes a concept, an ideology or a belief system out of ‘being’. For that just becomes more content. That is the equivalent of writing thousands of words about the experience of a blank page. Clearly those words are not the blank page, even though they (like all other words) feature on the blank page. One can create material and content out of the spiritual. But spiritual material is not the same as spirit.

In my own life, I find my attention oscillates evenly between the here and now and the contents of my life. Between an awareness of being and an awareness of mind, relationships and things. Between the blank page and the compelling story that is unfolding upon it. It occurs naturally and without effort on my part.

There is a clear perception that there is nothing right or wrong, better or worse, superior or inferior about any of it. The blank page of the here and now welcomes all kinds of words and stories - without differentiating or discriminating. Whether a love poem, an instructional manual, a propaganda of hate or a radical theorem - every form of content lives, breathes and eventually fades from that same blank page.

And I will reiterate what I said when I began this essay. That for me there are few joys that can compare with the joy of witnessing a blank page. It reflects that within me which is eternal, unchanging and infinitely accepting. It is the source from which I derive ALL of my life’s value - of my mind, of my relationships and of my possessions.