(thesouljourney) ' What's New!?'

What’s New?

Many people today suffer from neophilia – not a new disease, but a fascination with whatever is new. NEW is a word that gets an arousal within the brain. A new car! New and improved! How many different ways is this word used in advertising and in our search for value?

Novelty often rules as a substitute for value. Having lost the internal references for value, brainwashed by commercialism, we equate value with what is new or said to be new. We put an S on this word to describe what we call ‘the News.’

Of course not all people value the new – only those steeped in excessive consumerism. There are some cultures that even value the old – not because it is old, but because many things that are old have character and are rife with symbolic value. The old has a way of maintaining or establishing relationships – connections with culture, history, people and time.

When modern life lacks soul, the standards for what is of value are very superficial. Appearance means more than substance. The inner is neglected in favor of the outer. Image becomes a substitute for intrinsic worth. Status is sought from some external association rather than uniqueness and inherent worth.

When we see with the eyes of the soul we realize that new is not better than old, and that old is not better than new. We see beyond these superficial categories and recognize the inherent value and uniqueness of people and things.

Soul perspectives enable us to find the true value of everyone and everything. We can see through the hollowness of image and appearance that the magicians of the media create, allowing us to experience the substance and value of our own life and the true gifts that others have to give by simply being themselves.

Exercises: 1. What values attracted you to purchase or acquire some of the things you possess? 2. Examine some of the things in your life or possessions from the point of view of character, uniqueness and soul. 3. In what aspects of your life does the superficial dominate, and what effect does that have on your relationships with yourself and others?