Personal Musings : Materialism

Most of us, whether we accept it or not are materialistic, true the degrees vary - but how many of us can really accept our materialistic natures? Live with this fact? Or maybe try to keep it under check, curb it?

I am one hell of a materialistic person, and though it's not something to be proud of, I'm happy that I can at least accept it unlike most of the people. But is accepting enough? Shouldn't I be doing something about it? Can I even do something about it when it is a part of my nature, a part of who I'm?

But then again, what I'm most materialistic about is books - yes I'm a book hoarder. So how bad can materialism in my case be, if it's about books? How can surrounding oneself with books be a bad thing? 

I collect books - collector's editions, box sets, hardbound illustrated editions etc. etc... but I also read them - I have at least one suggestion for almost all the genres though I definitely haven't read all the authors - so there is scope for me to still be materialistic and hoard more books. So how bad is my materialism?

But then I also like to own latest gadgets (not that I always do our have everything - a laptop, a mobile, a decent pair of earphones - that's where my gadget list ends), have a cupboard full of clothes and 6 to 7 good pairs of shoes - but aren't those like basic necessities. Will owning these things make me materialistic?

True I may desire a lot more, my amazon wish lists would be a living proof of that - but I also know the difference between 'want' and 'need' and I have the strength to walk out of a store empty handed. I would call that an achievement - to have that much self-control when I'm materialistic.

Having said that, I also know that I'm neither reasonable nor that strong when it comes to books. Walking out empty handed from a bookstore is near impossible for me or spending humongous amounts on buying books is not beyond me... it won't be wrong to say, I'm obsessed when it comes to books.

And this eventually leads me to the internal debate with myself, how is being materialistic about books bad, for isn't it good to surround oneself with books? A debate, neither side of me will ever win - and thus I tuck it away in one corner of my big head and go on giving in to my temptations and buying books. And when I have the time to rattle my brain, in moments like these, these thoughts come rushing back to me where I once again never reach a conclusion - and this becomes an ongoing vicious cycle...