Easter and FOMO
Thank God Easter's here at last! The shops that have for months been pedaling eggs and hot-cross buns can now ready themselves for their next big payday.
(Did I hear Mothers' Day?) FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) is used to drive both the sellers and buyers.
Once one store displays its Easter goodies, it's follow the leader from then on.
And, in case parents thought they could avoid getting caught-up in the FOMO-game, their kids are quick to remind he or she who controls the purse-strings of the need to keep up with the Jones kids.
Any religious significance of Easter takes the back-seat, or no-seat at all, when FOMO is at play.
After all, we're talking about 'real life', here.
I can remember being in Rome one Good Friday.
Coming from The Land of Oz, I thought that very few shops would be open for business.
When I asked one of the shop-owners how come most of the shops were open, his reply was, 'It's business!'.
FOMO is a key motivator: retailers have found it very effective in making their registers ring.
Any change (assuming we want it, of course) must come from us.
You, too, might have been told in your mid-to-late 30s that you were in the sunshine years: 'bulletproof' might have been the word used to describe that feeling.
The apprehension and angst of adolescence was left behind, early career hurdles had been overcome, and you were starting to reap the benefits of experience learnt at the School of Hard Knocks.
The challenges (often incorrectly) associated with old age seemed such a long-way off.
Damn it! Rarely, is life that simple.
The shadows and other sun-blocks of self-doubt, sadness, and uncertainty were never far-off.
As Jack Nicholson asked, 'Could this be as good as it gets?' Easter, therefore, could have two main meanings.
First of all, there's the familiar symbols exploited so effectively by retailers: think Easter, think FOMO.
As my Italian mate said, 'It's business!' And then there's the message that life is rarely as simple as that promoted by those with a vested interest in FOMO.
This could be why church-goers fill the pews at this time of the year.
T.
S.
Eliot alluded to the need to change our ways while we still have time on our side, when he said, 'What we call the beginning is often the end'.
So, it's Easter! What, if anything, are you going to do about it? If you're in doubt, you could always follow Woody Allen's lead and have a bit each-way.
Woody said, 'I don't believe in an afterlife, although I am bringing a change of underwear'.
(Did I hear Mothers' Day?) FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) is used to drive both the sellers and buyers.
Once one store displays its Easter goodies, it's follow the leader from then on.
And, in case parents thought they could avoid getting caught-up in the FOMO-game, their kids are quick to remind he or she who controls the purse-strings of the need to keep up with the Jones kids.
Any religious significance of Easter takes the back-seat, or no-seat at all, when FOMO is at play.
After all, we're talking about 'real life', here.
I can remember being in Rome one Good Friday.
Coming from The Land of Oz, I thought that very few shops would be open for business.
When I asked one of the shop-owners how come most of the shops were open, his reply was, 'It's business!'.
FOMO is a key motivator: retailers have found it very effective in making their registers ring.
Any change (assuming we want it, of course) must come from us.
You, too, might have been told in your mid-to-late 30s that you were in the sunshine years: 'bulletproof' might have been the word used to describe that feeling.
The apprehension and angst of adolescence was left behind, early career hurdles had been overcome, and you were starting to reap the benefits of experience learnt at the School of Hard Knocks.
The challenges (often incorrectly) associated with old age seemed such a long-way off.
Damn it! Rarely, is life that simple.
The shadows and other sun-blocks of self-doubt, sadness, and uncertainty were never far-off.
As Jack Nicholson asked, 'Could this be as good as it gets?' Easter, therefore, could have two main meanings.
First of all, there's the familiar symbols exploited so effectively by retailers: think Easter, think FOMO.
As my Italian mate said, 'It's business!' And then there's the message that life is rarely as simple as that promoted by those with a vested interest in FOMO.
This could be why church-goers fill the pews at this time of the year.
T.
S.
Eliot alluded to the need to change our ways while we still have time on our side, when he said, 'What we call the beginning is often the end'.
So, it's Easter! What, if anything, are you going to do about it? If you're in doubt, you could always follow Woody Allen's lead and have a bit each-way.
Woody said, 'I don't believe in an afterlife, although I am bringing a change of underwear'.
