Thank you for taking your time to read my comment and then responding to it! I completely understand and agree with the spirit of your response but here's my p

Thank you for taking your time to read my comment and then responding to it! I completely understand and agree with the spirit of your response but here's my pedantic take on the specific ways you put it because I have heard it many times before and I do feel being pedantic about these will force you to introspect further. I feel deeply about this and have seen not only people's life change for the better when they go down this path of introspection, but people around them, so bear with me. > If I understand you correctly, we don't have our priorities straight. We are all very smart people. We do have our priorities straight. The issue seems to be that these are extremely short term priorities that are, most of the time counter productive for the wellbeing of a person over a span of 50 or so years. Its like getting really good and efficient at digging your own grave. You see, you're going to die eventually, so why not work hard at ensuring that your final resting place is as nice and comfortable as you can possibly make it? > Money and consumption is put above relationships and growth Of course and it's good for the economy. Think about it - without money and consumption, we would be in deep recession! So what exactly are we missing? > to justify shallow, expensive pursuits like traveling so they can show off how great their lives are Travelling is extremely valuable and educational. It also means different things to different people. However, I believe, the mainstream interpretation of travelling seems to be a vacuous method of distraction from the emptiness of the regular grind. Now, at best, I think that's extremely sad and at worst, can force someone deeper into depression. > Instead of leaning on relationships to provide for each other, and enduring hardships together, we want to individually achieve for ourselves, and remove any sense of inconvenience or boredom from our lives. Sorry this comment is already very large but without being more pedantic, you have made excellent points. The last bit is simply brilliant. Inconvenience is such a great teacher and enabler! You're either a successful entrepreneur or well on your way to being one. I really enjoyed this discussion and you have added a lot for me to think about. Thank you!