Abundance

Pink's fascinated humor shows us that Americans who previously looked for happiness in material goods are no longer fulfilled with this abundance alone. He uses statistics about second homes and trash bags to show how much abundance America is living in. He says that 13 percent of homes purchased now are second homes. Many families in other countries do not even have first homes, but in America a lot of people are buying unnecessary second homes. He also points out that the "Americans spend more on trash bags than ninety other countries spend on everything." By stating this he puts things into perspective; our abundance has taken over our lives so much that we just throw money in the trash. Pink also states that "the paradox of prosperity is that while living standards have risen steadily decade after decade, personal, family, and life satisfaction haven't budged." Recently Americans have been searching for fulfillment in life through material goods and that is why America has became so obsessed with the best items. Now that they realize they have gotten all of these designer products but they still aren't happy, they are searching for fulfillment through other techniques such as yoga and meditation. Pink's examples clearly show that our outlook on what is important has shifted from material goods to the meaning of life.