if you think about it
cigarettes are the perfect analogy for the consumerism that drives most people's lives. acquiring things gives us satisfaction much like smoking a cigarette does for an addict, but it is a short lived satisfaction that soon must be satisfied again. there is no real point to our materialism, as little point as there is in cigarette addiction. cigarettes don't even get you considerably high, but because of advertisement, social influence, and whatever other reasons people still smoke cigarettes and people still waste money on whatever they're told they ought to want. consumerism may not give you cancer, but it's a parasite to your pocket and your peace of mind to constantly be making sure you've got the right material posessions to impress or outdo your aquaintances. there's so much more satisfaction to be found in the ascetic life once you resocialize yourself not to be a pawn of the economic system that supports the massive framework of control in place in modern industrial society. you don't need an hd tv to look at the stars or enjoy a beautiful landscape. the simple pleasures of life are the most satisfying. most of the unhappiness in people today comes from their own expectations of how their life should be. we're taught to always want more, but when do we take the time to be grateful for what we have? when do we take the time to step back and realize that we're alive and what a crazy crazy awesome amazing thing that is? when you're constantly aware of that your motivations may change.