Should We Chase Experiences?

FOMO, the fear of missing out, is real and being experienced by 7 out of 10 Millennials according to a Harris poll sponsored by Eventbrite. The poll showed that 78% of Millennials would prefer to spend money on experiences instead of material things. That sounds great, right? Society has moved past the materialism of the 80’s and 90’s and evolved into wanting to experience life. Wonderful! However, the study showed Millennials’ motivation comes from social media posts where they see people traveling, going to concerts, or doing themed running events like Tough Mudders or color runs. They are bombarded by pictures of people having fun and experiencing life, but are they really?Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product. - Eleanor Roosevelt Social media can cause us to feel like we’re missing out, but can we force life experiences? Does traveling the world, attending concerts, jumping out of airplanes, or even taking exotic cooking classes make us happy? It could, for some. But, I don’t believe when I’m on my death bed looking back over my life I’m going to be focusing on my world travels or the best concert I saw. It’s going to be the small relational moments I’ll remember, like my grandmother sitting at the piano, singing a made up song about a bumble bee. Or the long walks I took with my brother the summer we moved to Massachusetts because we only knew each other. I’ll remember staying up swapping stories with my mom and dad after my dad had a heart attack scare, and my son’s eyes when he told me I looked beautiful. It’s these precious moments that leave an impression on our hearts.These trivial instances might not seem like much, but just thinking of them brings a big smile to my face and makes my heart swell with emotion. You can’t fabricate the elation of jumping on a huge tracker-tire inner tube at the beach with your cousins or the peace of lying next to your grandfather in a big bed because you’re not sure how many more opportunities you’ll have to be with him. You can’t force laughing until your side hurts because your grandmother has infectious laughter. These are the God-given moments that made me. They are my keepsake treasures. The photo album of my heart. My joy.I pray you are blessed with an abundance of these moments. That finding the next thrill or trying to one-up the last posted selfie doesn’t overshadow the simple life changing memories happening around you. God bless.I [Jesus] have come that you may have life, and have it to the full. - John 10:10 Make life easy and have my weekly blogs emailed directly to you. Sign up here for blogs and other writing updates: https://lorridudley.com/mc4wp-form-preview/