Release the Golden Handcuffs

The title "Release the Golden Handcuffs" came from a phrase i found in a great little read called: Happy, by Ian K. Smith. In this book I have made some profound connections with my own life. Sometimes you read on in books hoping to find a connection and some "enlighten" statements, and it just doesn't always happen. I had to explain why i think this is.
Where we are on any given day can be, putting it mildly, over the top crazy!
So, the day i picked this book up i really had no intentions of having any revelations, just loved the look of the book! Really, it just spoke to me, and of course the title is a bit catchy: "Happy".

So as i read i do have occasional wow moments and sometimes i just really don't even know what i read. That is normal, right?
Today, i felt like writing, i feel like sharing this piece of "Happy" because i think it speaks to me now and i wonder if it speaks to anyone else. Here you go. This is what i got:

How much does materialism distract you from the important things in life?
I am looking at large properties, large car bills, large credit card bills, all of which, at some point, were subconsciously taught, were virtues of materialism and brands of necessity.

We associate brands with status and status with instantly  recognizable admiration.  I grew up with very modest means, i also grew up noticing the very stark difference between them and me. Them being the wealthy "status" me being the modest "status".

I desired as a child to fill my "status" with the materials they had, i would work hours to earn enough for the izod shirt, the new sneakers with that fancy swish!

Today, i understand that in my youth, i wanted something that stated and gave me "status". I didn't consider any of the qualities "status" may have i only saw a sort of designer need.
Today, i also understand i have an obligation to move these believes around a bit to be fully aware where they may be still playing out. I could become handcuffed to the idea of having the brands that are understood as "status" but i wonder what it all means today. Does owning that Louis Vutton really make me a "cut above the rest" or part of some special society that only we Louis owners belong? Do my possessions represent who i am?
Here is what i know today, today i have some leftover "status" believes that are hard to break.  I have some clear need to search for that understanding. I truly want to raise my children in a reality that items, things, materials are only pieces of a marketed and materialized advertising that says "buy me" all the time!  I want them to know the real "status" is what lies deep within them that will be seen only by those whom connect with them at a heart level. Your "status" is something that belongs to you while on this earth that is to be shared with all that are in need. Can we start to shed the material "status" and grow the internal "status" that can't be bought.
Today, i see my "status" under construction. I am searching for ways of moving out of the "Golden Handcuffs" and moving toward a "status" of the heart.

Moments like this are what make me "Happy".

Karen~