Materialism, hedonism, and individualism were all once held and lived by me as efforts to try and free myself from all my inner and outer sufferings.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with nice things, having fun, and being an individual, but none of these things bring the abundant life we so desire.

For one, we can’t do it all alone, we need healthy relationships and community – and things, places, and experiences all fade over time. Memories may last forever, but even they can’t sustain the cravings of a hungry heart.

The following song lyric I heard seems to describe just how slippery these secular slopes can be:

“Our disease is the same one as the trees. Unaware they’ve been living in a forest”.

Consider it for a moment. A poetic prose with various interpretations for sure, but can it be, we live so stubbornly as individuals, that we grow unaware of our greater surroundings?

Indeed, we are part of something larger – something collective. We are not in this alone. There is more at stake than our mere pursuits of survival, consumption, competition, self absorption, and pleasure. Much more. (Mathew 6:31-34)