屈指一算﹐在職場打滾已很多年了﹐收入是提高了﹐可我每個月的開支仍和大學剛畢業時差不多﹐日子過得依然簡單。相信經濟學家最恨的就是我這種人了﹐因為很「不幸」﹐我感興趣的﹐都是一些低消費的活動︰行山、閱讀、寫作、拍照等。和友好相聚時﹐最愛串門子合力煮幾個小菜然後圍坐一起談天說地﹐喜歡這種自在的氣氛。

很 久以前﹐就看透了商品消費背後被商家製造出來的需要。以手提電話為例﹐生產商不斷推出新款手機﹐找俊男美女拍廣告﹐賦予新款手機「有型」、「酷」的象徵意 義﹐營造「品味生活」的標準。仔細想想﹐有誰真的需要一年換一部手機呢？除了手機﹐市面上還有無數的時尚商品、美容產品和電子玩具﹐利用鋪天蓋地的廣告﹐ 為消費者洗腦︰你長得不夠漂亮，你太胖了，皮膚不夠白，車子不夠氣派﹐PDA不夠高科技…這種洗腦讓消費者感到自己生活上的「欠缺」﹐使消費者確信自己有 需要購買美白霜﹐隆胸隆鼻﹐換車換PDA。為了負擔這些時尚消費，我們需要更加努力工作﹐然後為了更上一層樓的「品味生活」，就得更加更加努力的工作﹐同 時也製造更多的垃圾。

很多人不知不覺墮進這種消費圈套裡﹐在花花綠綠的消費世界裡追逐奢華的品牌、昂貴的價格及身分標識。 這種追逐﹐就像踏著圓輪的白老鼠﹐儘管很用力很勤快地踏著輪子﹐還是看不到盡頭﹐還是在繞著一個圓心轉動﹐越來越失去方向﹐完全被消費文化牽著鼻子走。

我不曾在消費文化裡迷失自己﹐因為我不需要靠高消費來證明自己的價值﹐或得到別人的認同。而且﹐簡單樸素的生活﹐其實是一種自由。最起碼﹐要是明天醒來﹐突然想把工辭掉﹐我不會太徬惶﹐因為我沒有太多的物質享受要割捨﹐不必思前想後跟奢華依依道別。

以下是一篇相當發人深省的文章。很可惜﹐世人已忘記他們的目的是喝咖啡﹐卻費盡思量追求一個「上等」的杯子﹐在人前炫耀﹐來滿足他們的虛榮心。

The Coffee Cup

A group of alumni, long established in their careers and very successful, got talking at a reunion and decided to go visit their old university professor, now retired.

During their visit, conversation soon turned into complaints about all the stress in their work and lives. Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the coffee.

When each of the alumni had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor watched and listened to them for a little while. Then he said: "Notice that all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups … and then you began eyeing each other’s cups. Now consider this: Life is the coffee; your job, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life. The type of cup one has does not define, nor change the quality of Life a person lives. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee. God gives us life. He makes the coffee, not the cups. Enjoy your coffee!" The happiest people don’t have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything.

Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply, speak kindly, and spend time over your coffee.