As I have been going through my belongings for an upcoming move to Spain, I've received lots of fascinating advice about stuff. Stuff I should keep, stuff I should throw away, stuff I should plan to keep in storage, stuff that can be reused or recycled, stuff I should plan to buy in Europe. All this talk has kept me up at night, wondering--
I would like to counter and also suggest that people shop because accumulating stuff is EASY. Commercials and Facebook advertisements tell you what to buy. If you don't feel like going outside, you can just go online and an adorable drone robot kitten will deliver your brand new mercenary paintball turret right to your back door. No money? Charge it! You do know everyone else in the neighborhood has a mercenary paintball turret, right? Stop thinking so much and just buy, Buy, BUY.
What would we have time to do if we spent less time buying/organizing/admiring/rolling around in/getting buried by all our stuff?
The volume of stuff that is created, recycled, passed around and thrown away on this planet every day is truly exceptional. As a species, we are generally obsessed with stuff-how much we have, how much others have, the qualities and advantages of this stuff versus that stuff-which of 17 brands of peanut butter is best, how many disposable cups we can accumulate or not accumulate in a day.
We do not buy based on need. We buy based on desire. Erica Sofrina writes about the experience of shopping in an article on care2 and says
Shopping is filling a need. It often provides a distraction from having to look at what is really
making us unfulfilled. Instead of going to the mall, take an afternoon off and go somewhere
in nature that inspires you.
I would like to counter and also suggest that people shop because accumulating stuff is EASY. Commercials and Facebook advertisements tell you what to buy. If you don't feel like going outside, you can just go online and an adorable drone robot kitten will deliver your brand new mercenary paintball turret right to your back door. No money? Charge it! You do know everyone else in the neighborhood has a mercenary paintball turret, right? Stop thinking so much and just buy, Buy, BUY.
In preparing to move abroad I want to stop buying. More than that, I want to stop contributing to this wasteful, superficial, capitalism tornado that is tearing apart our society and destroying our planet. I am headed to Europe with the feeling that I am good enough, my belongings are good enough and everything is going to be fine. That feeling is not made out of my stuff. I did not shop for it. I need surprising little in the way of material possessions to feel that way. I actually think as I have been getting rid of stuff over the course of the week, I have been achieving a greater sense of calm. I am excited to go meet new people. I hope they are kind and funny and interesting. I don't really care what brand of jeans they have on. I'm excited to walk in the parks, attempt a new language and drink (much too much) coffee in the plazas. Here's to hoping that none of those activities will require a mercenary paintball turret. Besos!
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