A Material World

"Wherever I went in my life, I met people wanting to gobble up something new.
Gobble up a new car. Gobble up a new piece of property. Gobble up the latest toy.
And then they wanted to tell you about it.
Guess what I got? Guess what I got?

You know how I interpreted that?
These were people so hungry for love that they were accepting substitutes.
They were embracing material things and expecting a sort of hug back.
But it never works.
You can't substitute material things for love or for gentleness or for tenderness or for a sense of comradeship."

("Tuesdays With Morrie", Mitch Albom)