An act of shopping can be a manifestation of power, responsibility, discovery, self-expression, and other positive values. But at the same time, it can be a symptom of deeply rooted insecurity and an escape from responsibility or replacement for meaningful action. . . .

The human drive to want more and more things comes from a deeply felt sense of lack. Buddhist philosopher David Loy has called this lack a basic character of our human existence in this phenomenal world. Our activities in this world are motivated largely by the need to fill this inherent lack we feel at the heart of our being. And yet, the more we seek to fill this lack by following our craving to have more and more — in short, living in the acquisitive mode — the less we are truly satisfied, and thus continue in a state of unfulfillment and frustration.

Ruben L. F. Habito, Hooked! by Stephanie Kaza, editor