The holidays are offically over. I always enjoy Thanksgiving and Christmas, but there is also something wonderous and refreshing about the end of one thing and the beginning of another,namely, the New Year. January 1st is always like a huge breath of fresh air for me. It’s ironic since I know in a cerebral sense that January 1st is no different than any other day. Still, the idea of something new and sparkly is undeniably alluring and altogether impossible to ignore.
In the spirit of new beginnings I have found myself examining why I do certain things. Why, for example, do I get new plastic bags every time I grocery shop? Mostly, I have to admit, because I am absent-minded when it comes to remembering to bring my old ones. Another question: Why do I give away bags of clothing that is seemingly still in great condition? I don’t know many people who are still wearing the fashions of 10 years ago, let alone 20 and 30 years in the past. Obviously, some of our clothing wears out, but I would have to admit that there is no way I would be caught dead in those clothes (yes, I survived the 80’s…barely). I have to therefore confess that one of the sole reasons I buy new clothes is to look cool.
Wow. That was hard to type. I didn’t think it would feel as bad as it did. (I am really tempted to delete it, but I won’t). Even if each one of us has a slightly different definition of what ‘cool’ is, it drives our consumerism. In the eighties it was a huge boombox on your shoulder with detachable speakers. Now, it’s an 1GB iPod shuffle MP3 player. Just a note: I have never actually owned either one, but I have my share of gadgetry, all of which carry the same dangling-carrot technology, i.e. ‘you will be so cool when you have one!’.
I have been following Josh Harris’ Affluenza series on his blog and I appreciate the spotlight being shown on the mindless and seemingly harmless consumerism that ironically ends up consuming us. I urge you to read his six-part series on the subject and contemplate the influences that shape your buying. Just go to the bottom of his homepage and search for ‘Affluenza’. It really is great…well…stuff.
In the meantime, check out the very interesting tutorial of sorts called, ‘The Story of Stuff’. It sheds a bit of a light on the peripheral impact of our buying system.
So, to do a bit of a wrap, we all love the new and sparkly. The question is, what drives that desire and what controls it? Is it in control at all? I would love you hear your thoughts on the subject.
