What is it that you long for?
What is the one thing, that if you had it, you would feel like you’ve arrived?
C’mon, I know there’s something. I know there is something that you longed for as a kid, that you looked for under the Christmas tree.
Or is it a piece of jewelry that you really wish your partner would buy for you?
What is your dream car?
What does your dream house look like?
I have known people who are truly content. I have always marveled at how this is possible; however, I’ve known more people for whom shopping is a past time. These aren’t necessarily materialistic people. These are good people who help others, contribute to charities and go to church. It just seems that we have a disposable culture. We use things up and throw them out.
I’ve recently been pondering the science of this. It seems as we get older, we start to worry about the permanence, or impermanence of things. For one, how long will I be on the planet? Probably less time than the plastic I used today.
But I digress. Plastic, sustainability and pollution are topics for another day. Let’s get back to “stuff” in general.
I try to clean out my closet at least twice per year. This is not really a great cleansing so much as a “make room for more stuff” exercise; a fact that I’m not too proud of.
This year however, I looked in my closet as I began to switch cold weather garments for warm weather ones, and I thought, “I have some beautiful clothes!”
If it weren’t for Corona-quarantine, I would be attending 2 weddings this month and what better time to buy a new dress?! But I didn’t do that…and not just because I couldn’t get to a store to try on anything. It’s because I have appropriate attire.
There is something sexy and exciting about acquiring new stuff. Some folks, like myself, then battle buyer’s remorse. So I’m trying really hard not to soothe Corona-boredom and Corona-loneliness with online purchases. The allure of a sale though, is mighty. At least I’m aware of my retail therapy tendency.
There’s actually a website, www.storyofstuff.org that espouses the dangers of our disposable society. I did not intend to blog about this, only about the effects on our personal development and growth. Overconsumption kills our creativity, intellectual curiosity and happiness.
I’ve also been thinking, “When all of this is over, we’re going to be shaggy, droopy, shiny-faced messes.” If we’ve been Zoom-meeting “as-is”, are we really going to see the benefit of dressing to the Nines? While I certainly hope folks don’t give up on themselves, I do hope they consider their consumer habits. I think it’s a fine time to reflect on many life habits. As a parent who has just helped her adult child move out of an abode she inhabited for 3 years, I can say that having more stuff is just a pain in the a$$!