Call of the Sirens

I have just began to read "The Not So Big Life" written by Sarah Susanka. Early on she writes "All of us have been conditioned by our parents, our schools, and our culture to become valued, contributing members of a society that depends on our willingness to play the game for its very survival. And we in turn oblige by going to work every day, bringing home a paycheck, providing for our famiies, and in the process purchasing an appropriate quantity of goods to support our consumer society. We rarely if ever stop and wonder if things are really the way they appear to be. Our conditioning tells us this is so, and we accept it. But could there be another way of perceiving things?"
I applaud Ms. Susanka's insight. Our response to the constant barrage of advertising to buy, buy, buy, had been to do exactly that. We buy because we are convinced we really neeed that excercise machine to maintain a physical appearance that will allow us to compete in the job market and the "relationship market" if you will. We need to upgrade our autos to stay in style and in step with the latest gizmos and add-ons. And of course how could we not respond to the call of the fashion sirens. We've made our lives so complicated that now we've created a market for goods and services that promise to simplify our complicated life. Stop. And when you have managed to become very still, listen to and follow your heart.