Today, we have a quote about breaking the power of consumerism in your life and living a simple, minimal life filled with joy and not with things.

So, this is another kind of unknown quote. No one knows exactly who said it; it’s just out in the ether. The quote goes, “Collect moments, not things.” I love that quote. It’s how I base my life. I’m collecting moments and memories. I kind of built my life on this quote; the principle behind it is that I am basing my life on building memories and not accumulating things.

“Collect moments, not things.”

— Author Unknown

In a few years, a few decades, it’s not the things I have that will count; it’s the memories I have. You know, I think we’ve all experienced this. We’ve longed for this new thing, worked so hard to get it, and then we’ve got it. Then we’ve got it, and it loses all of its luster, it loses all of its power and importance, and before long, it’s just another thing we don’t care about. Maybe we treasure it for a little while, and then suddenly it’s gone. That actually has a name. Scientists have studied this extensively and named it the ‘hedonic treadmill.’ 

It’s this practice of longing after something and then getting it, and then very quickly, it’s lost or fades, and you don’t care. Then you have this thing, and now you’ve got the burden of maintaining it, paying for it, housing it, and cleaning it, but it’s lost all of its joy. I mean, you got a real thrill out of it in the beginning, no question about it. But soon, the thrill is gone. The thrill is gone, baby, and you’re left stuck with the negative consequences of owning this stuff.

But memories, that’s never true of memory. You can look back on the things in your life that have brought you joy and always bring you joy. You can pull those memories up. I love taking pictures and videos, and I can look at those pictures and videos, and that will bring me joy for years to come. I’m fortunate to have pictures from decades ago, and every time I pull up one of those pictures and look at it, I relive those experiences, and the joy, and the friendships.

I think it’s so important that we live our life by this quote, “Collect moments, not things.” These moments of joy, people connecting with people, connecting with nature, connecting with the sacred, inspiring moments, joyous moments, and difficult moments. You know, sometimes we don’t realize the power of difficult moments. Those are what shape us. Those are what make us what we are. And embrace the difficult moments. Moments of all kinds are what make life better, and fuller, and richer.

Collect moments, not things, my friends.