johnmdemarco posted on August 07, 2010 21:16
We needed a few more back-to-school items today, so I paid a visit to an upscale shopping mall not far from home. As fate would have it, this is “tax free” weekend in Tennessee—a.k.a., spend even more money you don’t have in order to supposedly save some!
And tonight I’m just as amazed as ever as to how much stuff is for sale. Who could possibly be buying all of this stuff? Where do they put it before it turns up on that HGTV show where some organizing professional shows up and tells them, “Get rid of all this crap!”
I’m a material misfit. I don’t have and don’t want a lot of stuff. I get bored if conversations become too stuff-oriented. I have and want books, which contain stimulating ideas. I’m out of room to get more books, but I’m closer than ever to buying one of those Kindles or some other e-reader because the prices are dropping faster than a credit card at the counter at Dillard’s. I want and have a few nice clothes, and a few electronic/digital gadgets that keep life productive. But mostly I want ideas, experiences, conversations, and tools that help me to produce and experience meaningful art.
It seems quite often that we hide behind our stuff. It’s a helpful distraction. Just as shopping is sometimes labeled “retail therapy,” the aftermath is a sort of life therapy that lessens our need to look inside and grapple with larger questions. From cars to clothes to trinkets to jewelry to giant televisions…it takes so much energy to maintain and preserve and insure it all.
And today’s venture through the mall felt like stepping into a maddening journey to get even more of it. I’ll need a few months off before going back to therapy.