Minimizing
My apartment porch faces the parking lot and while I was hanging out there last night, a Mini Cooper pulls up. A girl gets out of her mini car with her mini dog and it got me thinking about how un-mini our lives are as Americans.
I live in a "big" state....big city, big cars, big scenery, big adventure and big choices. I also live in a country where most of the people living here have a problem with big consumption.
When I saw this car pull into the lot I thought, "What purpose is there for a Mini in Colorado? She can't take it into the mountains, she can't move very much in that car and she certainly can't fit any sporting equipment in the back."
In a land where SUVs, big flat-screen TV's, big homes, big vacations and big credit card bills rule, my mindset is stuck on how much space and material things I can consume. I don't do this consciously, but I still do it. I'm a college student and I don't work so I can concentrate on my homework and internship, so spending large quantities of money on clothes, drinks, accessories, plane tickets, food and fun with friends is absolutely ridiculous, but it still happens.
I also read an article in "People" magazine last night about this woman who gave up all un-necessary consumption for one year. She gave up going out to eat with friends, buying mascara, new socks and even certain items at the grocery store. No new clothes, no gym membership, no new books and no trips to the movies. She did keep olives on the "must have" list--maybe for those emergency martinis she'd need after she realized the insane journey she just embarked on. But after reading the horror list of the things she gave up, she described how much money she saved, how she and her husband didn't argue once about money and how they came to appreciate the "simple things in life".
Then I began to think of all the un-necessary things I have in my life. I don't want to consider myself as someone that is constantly on the track of "what else can I buy?" but I am. I pull out the ads from the Sunday paper and look at all the things I could potentially buy but don't need.
I'm not sure I'll ever go on a year hiatus from buying mascara, but it has made me realize the power of not buying on impulse. There are things that will keep my attention if I don't buy that new DVD or new shirt. After all, I live in a state with big scenery and all I have to do to enjoy it is walk out my door which doesn't cost a thing.
posted by erin @ 7:41 PM
<< Home