Satin Bowerbird

Pictured here is a female Satin Bowerbird, with a holly berry in her mouth, surrounded by more shiny berries. I watched dozens of these birds frantically flying and feasting amidst the holly trees. It was an epic display of consumption.

I feel a claustrophobia in this photo, that reflects how I feel in the throes of consumerism. Surrounded by shiny objects screaming "consume me!".

The modern world is in an over-consumption crisis. We are surrounded by so many shiny berries; so much temptation. We are bombarded with ads, designed specifically for us, based on individual behavioural profiles made up of thousands of data points, stealthily gathered about our habits, interests, and past patterns of consumption.

We are manipulated by marketing tactics that generate feelings of inadequacy, fear, and competition: We are presented with artificial problems for which consumption is always the solution.

Like rats blindly running the maze of consumerism, we must find a way out.

We can so choose to ignore the true cost of the items we consume and the sources thereof but the facts remain. The natural world can't keep meeting our current ever-increasing demands. We are taking too much. We are wasting too much. Consumerism has cut our umbilical cord to nature. And with this connection to nature severed, we are more susceptible to consume without consideration and without moderation.

The Satin Bowerbird calls us to consider our tendency for over-consumption, for it - and all of the birds in this deck - are suffering as a result. When we are properly connected to something, caring for it becomes so much easier. Reconnecting with nature can animate us to make the behavioural change the current reality requires.

If we buy less, we can work less, and live more. The healing power of nature can't be bottled and sold (thankfully!): it is completely free!

If you consider your possessions honestly, do you find you already have everything you need? What are some ways you could spend more time connecting with nature? Are there any simple ways you could curb your current consumption?