In this age of consumerism, everyone seems to tell us that newer is better, faster, more sleek, more stylish. But does it bring us happiness?
Our meditation teacher Kun Thanat Chindaporn used say, ‘fix the old car first”. A new car, a new boyfriend/girlfriend, a new job, eventually gets old. At the time it may feel like a great idea to switch but if you don’t deal with the problems you left behind with the old situation, they will most likely follow you to the new one.
The practice of insight meditation can directly help people to overcome feelings of always wanting to move on to the next new thing because it can actually cut out craving from the roots. As a result meditators become happier and feel more free in the present moment instead of constantly trying to upgrade to the latest model. They become satisfied with the current situation and are happy simply fixing up the old car to make it run like new.