Just stop
November 20, 2009
Why do we so often insist that life is static and linear? Do we refuse to see the fluidity of life because we believe this is simply our inheritance as Westerners? We have so many possibilities before us every day that we simply refuse to see. Of course, we are all born into unique situations and circumstances, and we all grow up with our own individual biases and viewpoints. We will always see the world through our own eyes. But refusing to look beyond our own colored lenses is a recipe for loneliness and dissatisfaction. To value only out of habit what we have been taught to value is no value at all.
Annie Leonard, in “The Story of Stuff,” says…
“We are in this ridiculous situation where we go to work, maybe two jobs even, and we come home and we’re exhausted so we plop down on our new couch and watch TV and the commercials tell us ‘You SUCK!’ so we gotta go to the mall to buy something to feel better, then we gotta go to work more to pay for the stuff we just bought so we come home and we’re more tired so you sit down and watch more TV and it tells you to go to the mall again and we’re on this crazy work-watch-spend treadmill. And we could just stop.”
That’s all we really have to do: stop. Question ourselves. Question the consumer culture. Question, question, question.
Entry Filed under: Reflections. .
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1.
Selena | November 20, 2009 at 2:30 pm
I’ve been thinking about this recently too. Mostly since I have started on with Facebook. So many people often comment how bored they are. This is something I can’t even fathom. As you said life is full of possibilities everywhere. How can an adult truly be bored? Maybe it is our western culture that has shaped these people into thinking that moments of silence lead to boredom rather than contemplation of things. And that they must buy, buy, buy to fill that void. Great post.
2.
Shopping Golightly | November 20, 2009 at 3:28 pm
My sentiments too. I do my best to build my own consumer culture. No cable TV, no catalogs or if they arrive, I immediately recycle them. I used to think that catalogs could give me ideas. All they gave me was want. I like to develop my own style. I have squared shoes and pointed shoes – they weather whatever fashion storm is blowing over. I carefully pick what media sources I listen too.
I thrift. Like crazy. Ironically people think I’m applying conspicuous consumption to thrift. I’m not. I might buy out something new or nice my daughters will need in a year for a few bucks at the thrift store.
When you step outside America’s consumer culture you see how insane it’s become. In the last hundred years the consumer lost the ability to tell the merchants what they need. Now it’s the reverse. Weird.
3.
Cate | November 20, 2009 at 7:27 pm
The whole “work so you can buy more stuff so you can go back to work to pay for it all” cycle is terrifying. We went to the mall last night to pick up a gift card for my sister for Christmas (and indulge in soft pretzels, yum!), and I was really startled when I found myself literally repulsed by the whole atmosphere.
4.
thisthriftedlife | November 20, 2009 at 7:57 pm
Selena, all the boredom fascinates me as well. I am so rarely bored. If there’s really nothing useful to do (baking, yard work, etc), I can always find a book to read or something of the sort or some writing to do.
Golightly, good point about the merchants now telling the customers what they want! We have handed over an immense amount of power to corporations, advertisers, etc.
Cate, mm, now I want a soft pretzel!
5.
Kate | November 20, 2009 at 8:47 pm
I think most people would be so much happier if they got off the work-watch-spend treadmill. There is so much more to life – so many possibilities.
6.
thisthriftedlife | November 24, 2009 at 2:37 pm
Kate: exactly! We’ve let our ourselves become conditioned to think there is only one path through this life: the conventional one of overworking and then overspending to give ourselves a break. It seems most of us are not paying attention to if that spending and playing is really satisfying us.