The Important Things In Life Aren't Things

I checked Twitter last Thursday night at around 11pm Pacific Time just before going to bed, only to see a bunch of tweets about a massive earthquake hitting Japan and praying for the incoming tsunami just offshore. I quickly turned on the local news and a live feed on the internet of international news.

This is what I saw (watch video here RSS readers):

Words don’t really do that video justice. If that one doesn’t shock you, watch how 6 minutes of tsunami waters can run over and destroy an entire city.

Back in the summer of 2009, I walked into a coffee shop in Northern Iowa and saw a sign that said “the important things in life aren’t things.” That phrase has stuck with me since then.

But it was probably never more real than watching the tsunami wipe away entire cities in an instant.

Especially in American culture, there is a high value placed on the accumulation of things. Nice cars, nice tvs, nice furniture, nice computers, nice clothes. All of these things have a status wrapped up in them. And this much I can promise you: none of it matters in the least.

The important things in life aren’t things.