We are bored children crawling into a new world with nothing to do. But as children we need action, activity; so we look for it.
In this search we came across some toy. The child stops. Eyes wide, mouth open, fingers twitching. The toy is beautiful, its shape and brightness attract us. Our curiosity swells to the point of bursting. We look around and see other children, all with the same or similar toy. This only makes the curiosity grow. So many kids marveling at that, it can only be what we're looking for. The child crawls towards the thing.
In your hands it seems to shine even more. She smiles, waves the toy above her head, sets it on the floor, turns it to one side, adjusts it to the other, bites. The boredom for a moment disappears.
After a while, the toy seems to lose its shine. The form wears out and the child begins to get bored. You've already put the toy to every use your child's brain could conceive of.
Frustrated, she drops the object and goes in search of something else to occupy herself with.
Soon she finds a new toy, bigger and brighter. Excited, she picks up the pace towards her.
The days go by and the child continues to find and drop the most varied toys. Nothing satisfies you. Everything easily falls into the cold vacuum of boredom.
So we are. Big kids looking to be distracted by their toys. With the small difference that we learn to keep our own.
We have two strong reasons for this. The first is that, unlike children, most do not get the toy effortlessly. And the second is that we learn that the more we have, the more admiration we attract.
After all, if these children look for toys in order to satisfy themselves, it is to be expected that the child with many toys will be seen by others as someone full. Logically, that would be sensible.
In practice, the theory turns out to be different. Those who accumulate large amounts of toys find that they remain totally dissatisfied. Like the child at the beginning of the story, she is easily bored with her new toy. And the more you have, the more boring they all seem.
However, even dissatisfied, the child rich in toys never admits his discontent to others. Instead, she is proud of herself and always seeks to display the successful smile that others expect of her. A smile that fades the moment there is no one to look at.
With this the child learns a new way of being distracted. Cultivating the admiration of others, or envy, but it doesn't matter to her. Attention to yourself seems to serve you well as an occupation. And the other kids, coveting all those toys, try hard to get as much as they can, and so the game begins.
Now it seems that life is on its way. All children have found a distraction to occupy their time. Accumulate toys. Whoever has the most wins. Those who have nothing are. Great, the game will never end as there is always more to have, it's perfect. Now all the kids have something to do.
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But at night, in their beds, the game stops, and something seems wrong to them, they still feel bored. Confused, they turn over and force themselves to sleep. The next day they hear from all sides other children claiming that they are very happy with their new toys. Confused children, believing they are the only ones confused, find it best to do the same. Better not look different. Then they feign the same contentment and boast of their new acquisitions. Poor naive, little do they know that the confusion is general.
So another day ends in this incessant and suffocating game, and the children return to their homes full of new toys. They tidy them up in their living rooms and bedrooms and go to bed, where they lie bored with their empty gazes turned to the ceiling and words echoing in their minds.
What is missing?
