1/ The worst part of contemporary capitalism is not just what it’s done to our economy but what it’s done to our heads. Our entire society, and the mindset that dominates it, has been infused with a marketing mentality.

2/ Everything has become a marketed product, from the way we look to the way we act to what we do professionally and how we do it – and particularly dangerously at this point in our history, our politics.

3/ When our only bottom line in life is what we can get out of something, we develop a skewed relationship to things that matter. “What can I get out of this?” is not the highest line of questioning for the person seeking the most meaningful life.

4/ Looking for results in terms of material things is different looking for deeper understanding, a greater capacity to love, or a more soulful view of things. We’ve peripheralized life’s greatest treasures by obsessively seeking its cheapest thrills.

5/ That fracture has caused a profound disruption that has poisoned our society and sickened our hearts. So many are caged within the need to be who they think they need to be in order to survive. It’s not the way our society should run nor how our economy should be structured.

6/  We’ve got to free ourselves from the dictates of a mentality that sees everything and everyone as merely a product to be sold. So many of us are twisted up like pretzels, not even knowing anymore who we would be if we weren’t feeling forced to please someone or something.

7/ Do something radical today; enjoy a park or a novel or a conversation that goes nowhere. Take a stand for things that matter most, so often things that the market says are things that matter least. What the market says is worthless is often the most worthy thing of all.