The average home size in the U.S. has increased from 980 to 2350 sq. ft. in the past fifty years, an increase of 240%.[1] This increase has occurred at the same time that families have gotten smaller. So if we’re not filling our larger houses with people, what are we filling them with?
Things.
As incomes have risen, buying power has also rise. So we buy more “things.” And we then decide that each family member needs their own set of “things.” But where do we put all these new possessions? In a bigger house! A bigger house that needs more wood, cement, wiring, and plumbing than its counterpart of fifty years ago. It needs to be heated and cooled. It needs to be filled. To fill it, we need more “things.”
In a world with shrinking resources, people have increasing wants. We see the results all around us. Daily, we create more environmental problems as there is not enough water, clean air, and land to go around. We have created a standard of living that many want, but few can have and the earth cannot sustain.
Those who manage to fulfill this higher standard of living did so to be happy. But as the joy of new ownership erodes, they find themselves working to maintain that envied lifestyle. People end up working for their house, for their possessions. But happiness sought in material phenomena does not last. We do not find happiness externally, but within us.
It is wise to remember that less is more. Less consumption, less wanting, less selfishness lead to more contentment and more time for what truly matters.
[1] “Build,” Big Ideas for a Small Planet, Sundance Channel