Category Archives: Materialism

Entertainment and Survival

Posted on October 10, 2020 by John Swinburn

Thirty episodes over three seasons, constituting thirty hours of programming, have been released thus far of the Danish television series, Borgen. Virtually all of my television consumption for the past several weeks has revolved around Borgen, twenty-nine hours, to be … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, Greed, Happiness, Materialism, Scandinavian, Television, Television series | 4 Comments

Tells Stories and Believes Them

Posted on November 10, 2018 by John Swinburn

About four years ago, I wrote a very brief post that began, “Tells stories and believes them.” The quote was my memory (which I believe is correct) of a statement in a psychological inventory’s assessment of my personality. I didn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Frustration, Materialism, Philosophy | Leave a comment

Minimal

Posted on January 8, 2017 by John Swinburn

For years, I’ve been drawn to the concept of a minimalist lifestyle.  Several years ago, I stumbled across an online video created by a young guy who designed and built tiny houses and who had created an online video series … Continue reading →

Posted in Greed, Happiness, Materialism, Philosophy, Self-discipline | Leave a comment

Culinary Hypocrisy

Posted on October 29, 2016 by John Swinburn

I was reminded this morning of an essay I read six years ago that made me pause and reflect on my fascination with food. The essayist, William Deresiewicz, asserts that food replaced art as the embodiment of high culture. Deresiewicz says the “foodie” … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, Materialism, Philosophy | Leave a comment

Comfort Versus Luxury

Posted on December 4, 2015 by John Swinburn

At what point does comfort cross into luxury? That question came to me this morning, unexpectedly, while I was checking the clothes dryer. I washed a mish-mash of clothes last night—jeans, t-shirts, socks, etc.—but forgot about them. When I awoke … Continue reading →

Posted in Doing Without, Just Thinking, Materialism, Philosophy, Self-discipline | Leave a comment

Eye-Opening Memory

Posted on August 16, 2015 by John Swinburn

Today, I was able to restore an old blog I once deleted. It’s a long story, not worth re-telling, but what is worth telling is that I found a post I treasured from the day I wrote it. I hated … Continue reading →

Posted in Compassion, Empathy, Materialism | Leave a comment

Thirsty

Posted on November 29, 2014 by John Swinburn

The thirst for material goods is both puzzling and understandable. It’s puzzling in that one would think years of unmet promises of happiness offered by material goods would cure us of irrational expectations. It’s understandable in that almost every waking moment we … Continue reading →

Posted in Materialism | 2 Comments