On Materialism: An Excerpt from The Tao of Leadership by John Heider

The wise leader leads a quiet and meditative life. But most people are busy getting as many possessions as they can.

The quiet path leads towards a more conscious existence. The busy path creates an exaggerated materialism.

Becoming more conscious leads toward God and a sense of the unity of all creation. But excessive consumption is only possible by exploiting someone.

The world’s goods are unevenly distributed. Some have a great deal. Most have very little. We are running out of enough resources to go around. Everyone know that.

Yet those who are already encumbered by possessions get more and more. They even brag about how much they have. Don’t they know what stealing is?

Owning lots of possessions does not come from God. People get it by manipulating other people.