On a similar but completely different note, I am a bit of an insomniac. I go through the day doing things that I have to do (go to class, do homework, go to meetings for work...) and then once I get home I get into some sort of euphoric state of actually being able to do what I want, i.e. cook, read blogs that I follow, doodle, or in the case of tonight (this morning...) purge.
No I am not talking about bulimia, people, but instead a sort of manic state of disgust for the amount of material possessions that I own. I am a bit of a pack rat but that is nothing to compare to the source of the problem: materialism and consumerism. These are topics that are a main part of a deep internal struggle that I dance around with, but ones that I am not particularly up for discussing further in this post. However my lovely friend Darshan speaks of materialism a bit on this specific blog post.
All in all, I just spent the last few hours going through my room doing a preliminary sweep of things to give away, directly relating to my new years resolution to reduce the amount of waste that I produce. For me, one huge step is thinking about why I feel that I NEED this stuff. What do I gain by having x amount of clothing? Why am I drawn to accumulating more, more, more junk? An obvious answer is that is what culture tells me to do, these things are what advertising tells me to buy. But I have a feeling that it is more than just that. That it may be an attempt to substitute aspects of life that people may actually need; a connection to nature, meaningful relationships with other people, a genuine interest in what we do in our day-to-day life...
Well anyways, here's a picture of my preliminary sweep (I will document it further post-sleep)...
I have to say that the (unnecessary) amount of t-shirts that I have accumulated just by taking part in activities is pretty ridiculous. Do I need a t-shirt that says that I went to prom in 2007? Absolutely not. How about over 10 items of clothing that have to do with my high school dance team? Nope. I am not sure if this habit of branding yourself as a part of an activity is a lust for new things or a need to feel inclusions but either way I am strangely put off by it as I sift through this carnage of consumption.
If you have made it this far then I have to apologize for my scattered thoughts and ranting nature.
Please remember that REDUCE is the first (and most important) action in reduce-reuse-recycle. There is no plan(et) B
You are beautiful. I think you make a very wise observation that maybe we are trying to make up, through materialism, for things that are actually lacking in our modern lives. I know this is subjective, and "meaning" is in the eye of the beholder, but when we can't find *truly* meaningful things (people, nature, community, walking, talking, loving) to spend our time on, we try to make up for them in the easiest way possible - a credit card and flashy things that make us stand out. Of course, developing and assigning meaning, and thinking about things is much more difficult that opening your wallet, and thinking about social and environmental impacts of those purchases. It is interesting to think about what people are most remembered for - most are remembered for their acts of kindness (and brutality), not what clothes they wore, or the kind of computer they had.
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