I also prefer to shop alone. There are people I love who like nothing better than ambling slowly through displays of goods, stopping many times to pick up and handle items on offer, things they often wouldn’t dream of buying.  A trip to buy milk and bread, winds up being an extended market research project. Not for me! I have ruined more than one relationship, foolishly accepting a casual invitation to accompany someone I like, shopping. In no time at all, I don’t like them as much.

This is one way in which the poor are blessed. I am fortunate to be part of a Western society wherein even the poorest are by comparison very wealthy in the eyes of millions of Asian, South American or African people. Nonetheless, within this society I am definitely one of the ‘have-nots’. Mostly this does not concern me, but the pressure to change is relentless. Every wile and seductive measure is marshalled to persuade me to get more and better stuff, without which I am to consider myself inadequate.

The poorer a person is, the further are such desires from that person’s mind. For the millions of dispossessed around the world, the hunger for something, anything, to eat, and a place to lay their head down for the night keep them busy enough. For them, the choices our consumer society confound themselves with are laughable. They have none of these options, so why dwell on the impossible? Deprived of material advantage, they quite naturally find solace in the world around them, the people in it, and spiritual concerns. Blessed indeed…

Originating post: blessed are the poor

Why does this still affect me? Its not that I want to rush out and buy all this crap, but rather that I feel guilty because I don’t want to. The arch winks and sly grins of a high sheen cast of glamour cats and kittens, would have me give in to their blandishments and START SPENDING MONEY!!

I have lived with this contradictory attitude for years. Like millions, I know perfectly well that the origins of Christmas have nothing to do with money, yet each year I wind up spending more than I can afford. Which means that the commercial pressure on us all works on me whether I like it or not.

What irks so many of us is how early the campaign begins. By the end of October it is in full swing.

How refreshing it would be if we could contrive to ban all mention of the impending feast till, say, December 15. No gift buying, no plans, no advertising, and no preparation of any kind. This would free us up to have a last minute, chaotic, spontaneous good time of our own devising. The best parties often happen this way. Sadly the forces of commerce, overwhelming as they are, would never go for it.

Years ago I used to do all my shopping on Christmas Eve. It was exciting, hair-raising and a party in itself. Might I humbly suggest that any number of us can quite happily resist all this profit seeking hoo-ha, and keep what little money we have firmly in our pockets. If enough people did it, we could bring the greedy bastards to their knees.

To usurp Nancy Reagan’s famous slogan, “Just Say No!”

Originating post: just say no