If you’re like us, sometime in the next handful of weeks, you will excitedly rush to your television and prepare for the annual Halloween classic, “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.” It is, of course, at base a cute children’s cartoon. On a second level, it’s a statement on faith and belief (though that is probably too heavy to write about on this blog!). However, as we prematurely re-watched this favorite this week (yes, we couldn’t wait!), we realized that it’s also a statement about how little Linus Van Pelt and his security blanket find the satisfaction of enough among a sea of consumerism.
If you don’t remember the story line, while all of the other Peanuts children are out trick or treating and trying to get “more, more, more”, Linus Van Pelt is instead waiting (along with the unfortunately charmed Sally) in the most sincere pumpkin patch that he can find, waiting for the arrival of the mythical great pumpkin.
Is there any message that could be more apt to the postconsumer movement? Sure, at the end of the night, Linus hasn’t seen the great pumpkin, but he’s made a choice. What’s that choice? That simply collecting things (or in this case huge bags of candy) won’t lead to true satisfaction or happiness. He chooses instead to find another activity that may eventually lead him to happiness. In this instance, it doesn’t pan out exactly as he hoped, but at least he recognized that it wasn’t “more, more, more” that would make him happy. And we like to believe that, some day, Linus Van Pelt really would find his great pumpkin!
What’s your “great pumpkin” that will help you find the satisfaction of enough? Friend us on Facebook and let us know what it is! For us, watching “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” is actually one of those things that leaves us feeling the satisfaction of enough because we enjoyed some great art (and yes, we think that Peanuts cartoons are great art in their own right).
The Get Satisfied Interactive Handbook evaluates where you are on your journey to finding the satisfaction of enough and gives you a personalized how-to plan on beginning to find the satisfaction of enough
