With all the recent hub-bub about our rebate checks coming - and GWB and the oil companies laughing all the way to the bank (not to mention the money lenders in China) - here's a little something to give you a dose of perspective.
Many thanks to the insightful Megan and her Having Enough Blog for this updated link and video.
Don't forget to visit the Simple Living Network to weigh in on the Not Buying the Rebate Bribe message.
Peace Out,
Lisa
Friday, April 25, 2008
Monday, April 14, 2008
What I'm Learning These Days
Hello.
I apologize for my absence over the past two weeks. Life and time and stress and obligations have all taken precedence over posting in this forum. Many wonderful blog ideas have come and gone through my mind during that time - and yet none have made it onto these pages.
Yes, that is frustrating to me. But, oh, well. Those occurrences help my practice of non-attachment, letting go of perfection, realizing I cannot do it all, etc.
This week my husband and I are in Charlotte, North Carolina, visiting my dear friend and blog sister, Gail and her family. It is a joyous change of pace and scenery.
With my new mindset of Not Buying It, vacation travel takes on a whole new meaning. As one who likes to collect *stuff* - travel to new and different places has always been an occasion to acquire more mementos to document the trips and connect with the memories. Mugs, magnets, postcards, jewelry, posters, t-shirts, books, blah, blah, blah. An endless array of things exist in various places within my house. Oddly enough, most of them (or at least the ones I can recall now) are still in the bags in which I brought them home. The plans I had for them long forgotten.
Of course this is not true of every single thing I've acquired while away, but definitely the majority. Mugs packed away in tubs in the basement, ornaments in boxes that are only displayed during the Christmas holidays, books on dusty shelves, postcards and brochures still in the bags, scarves packed away, t-shirts long folded away in the bottom of a drawer, jewelry stuffed in boxes and cloth sacks in a drawer overflowing with watches and earrings and necklaces and bracelets. On and on and on.
While I love the reminders and the connection these things have to those special places I've been blessed to experience - they are in no way a substitute for the experience itself. Or the relationships that have been formed along the way.
So...as I travel on this particular journey, I am trying not to buy *stuff*. I am fighting the urge to acquire or to mark my presence here with trinkets and things that will go home with me - adding pounds to my luggage that must be lugged back through the airport.
I just want to soak in the essence of BE-ing here. I want to bask in the sun of friendship and family love and adorable doggy kisses and cool new sights and sounds.
I want to resist the urge to spend my hard-earned and short supply of money in exchange for another something that will take up space in my home. Instead I will relax, breathe, step away from the cashier, and let go. I will listen to the birds, marvel at the azaleas, take photos of the trees, drink the sumptuous tea and enjoy being present in this moment.
Letting myself deeply experience the NOW of being here - with these dear, special, loving, kind, generous people is by far the richest thing I can acquire. And, when all else fades away, what will remain in my mind, my cells, my spirit for as long as time goes on.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Off Track
Okay, it's confession time...
As with many of my past New Year's resolutions, my attempts at change have lost steam over the past few weeks. I continued strong until about mid-February and then seem to have petered out.
While my awareness of not spending continues, I haven't been keeping track of it (in the calendar I designed at the beginning of the year). Also, in the essence of full disclosure, I have knowingly, consciously purchased items that, in my original post, I indicated I would not buy this year, namely two tote bags (one here and one here) and a candle. Hhhhmmmpphhh!
It seems this lifestyle change takes focus and energy - and lately both of those things have been occupied by other endeavors and life circumstances. Thus, the not-buying-it work has slid down on the totem pole of priorities.
However, I remain committed to this quest!
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Two good things of late:
1) My spending IS much more in line with my values. I continue to seek to purchase local and/or handmade goods as much as possible. I also focus my choices on things that are consumable and/or experiential (like a visit to this awesome museum); things that won't sit around and just collect dust.
When considering a purchase or a donation, I am asking myself, "Is this important to me? Is this worth the exchange of my hard work and life energy for this product?"
I have reduced the amount of catalogs I receive by participating in this great new web site. Also, I have requested to have my name removed from non-profit mailing lists for companies that are no longer in line with my values and vision for what I want the world to be.
2) I am happy to report that, other than our mortgage obligation (which happens to be at a great interest rate with less than 10 years to go), I am now DEBT FREE!
I have paid off my credit card balances! And I just opened a new savings account (my previous one was used up and closed when I was out of work last year). This is the one in which I plan to deposit the $600 rebate check I'll get from GWB in May.
So - all in all - my falling off the wagon so to speak hasn't been as dire as past failures at making lasting change (mainly diet and exercise!). It's just that, like anything else if life, it is a work in progress...with lots of learning along the way!
And your journey? How's it going? Please comment and let me know how you find yourself and your spending as we near the end of our first quarter together.
As with many of my past New Year's resolutions, my attempts at change have lost steam over the past few weeks. I continued strong until about mid-February and then seem to have petered out.
While my awareness of not spending continues, I haven't been keeping track of it (in the calendar I designed at the beginning of the year). Also, in the essence of full disclosure, I have knowingly, consciously purchased items that, in my original post, I indicated I would not buy this year, namely two tote bags (one here and one here) and a candle. Hhhhmmmpphhh!
It seems this lifestyle change takes focus and energy - and lately both of those things have been occupied by other endeavors and life circumstances. Thus, the not-buying-it work has slid down on the totem pole of priorities.
However, I remain committed to this quest!
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Two good things of late:
1) My spending IS much more in line with my values. I continue to seek to purchase local and/or handmade goods as much as possible. I also focus my choices on things that are consumable and/or experiential (like a visit to this awesome museum); things that won't sit around and just collect dust.
When considering a purchase or a donation, I am asking myself, "Is this important to me? Is this worth the exchange of my hard work and life energy for this product?"
I have reduced the amount of catalogs I receive by participating in this great new web site. Also, I have requested to have my name removed from non-profit mailing lists for companies that are no longer in line with my values and vision for what I want the world to be.
2) I am happy to report that, other than our mortgage obligation (which happens to be at a great interest rate with less than 10 years to go), I am now DEBT FREE!
I have paid off my credit card balances! And I just opened a new savings account (my previous one was used up and closed when I was out of work last year). This is the one in which I plan to deposit the $600 rebate check I'll get from GWB in May.
So - all in all - my falling off the wagon so to speak hasn't been as dire as past failures at making lasting change (mainly diet and exercise!). It's just that, like anything else if life, it is a work in progress...with lots of learning along the way!
And your journey? How's it going? Please comment and let me know how you find yourself and your spending as we near the end of our first quarter together.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Our Primal Nature?
I often get epiphanies at very odd times - in weird places. As I was changing the sheets on our bed today, it occurred to me that, perhaps, the act of shopping is part of our primal nature.
Is our bent towards the acquisition of *stuff* a leftover genetic thing from our days of hunting and gathering?
Now that, for the most part, our survival needs are met and we don't have to hunt and gather for our basic needs any longer - have we replaced that urge with the shopping and spending that consume so much of our days?
I know I shop for security reasons. This has manifested itself quite clearly in the years since 9/11. Each winter since then I have hoarded a commodity of some sort. The first year it was toilet paper. Then it was cereal. Then it was boxes of tea. This past year or so it was canned goods.
A part of my psyche told me that if I had enough of "x" on hand things would be okay. All is right with the world as long as we have canned goods!
And that's where the hunter-gatherer thing comes in. While our ancestors had to spend the better part of their days working hard for food-shelter-clothing, we now have those things in abundance. And yet our genetics remain unchanged, which leaves us with the desire to continue to hunt and gather.
Who among us hasn't experienced the thrill of bringing home a desired object - or - felt the victory of the kill when finding a great bargain? I assert that these are similar feelings to the quest and subsequent celebration that existed years ago (and, of course, may still exist for those who live and struggle in other parts of the world) when the hunters were successful.
So, once again, I will attempt to lay down my bow and arrow. I will look at all that is gathered around me - the accumulation of years of working hard and exchanging my money and life energy for stuff - and resist the primal urge to hunt and gather. I will remind myself that what I have is more than enough - and that I am safe.
Well, right after I stop at the grocery store on the way home that is...
Is our bent towards the acquisition of *stuff* a leftover genetic thing from our days of hunting and gathering?
Now that, for the most part, our survival needs are met and we don't have to hunt and gather for our basic needs any longer - have we replaced that urge with the shopping and spending that consume so much of our days?
I know I shop for security reasons. This has manifested itself quite clearly in the years since 9/11. Each winter since then I have hoarded a commodity of some sort. The first year it was toilet paper. Then it was cereal. Then it was boxes of tea. This past year or so it was canned goods.
A part of my psyche told me that if I had enough of "x" on hand things would be okay. All is right with the world as long as we have canned goods!
And that's where the hunter-gatherer thing comes in. While our ancestors had to spend the better part of their days working hard for food-shelter-clothing, we now have those things in abundance. And yet our genetics remain unchanged, which leaves us with the desire to continue to hunt and gather.
Who among us hasn't experienced the thrill of bringing home a desired object - or - felt the victory of the kill when finding a great bargain? I assert that these are similar feelings to the quest and subsequent celebration that existed years ago (and, of course, may still exist for those who live and struggle in other parts of the world) when the hunters were successful.
So, once again, I will attempt to lay down my bow and arrow. I will look at all that is gathered around me - the accumulation of years of working hard and exchanging my money and life energy for stuff - and resist the primal urge to hunt and gather. I will remind myself that what I have is more than enough - and that I am safe.
Well, right after I stop at the grocery store on the way home that is...
Monday, March 3, 2008
Get Happy Here!
That's what the sign says.
In fact, there are several of them proclaiming this message loudly in the windows of a business in downtown Dayton. I had to do a double take as I drove by. I was intrigued.
Happy?
What?
Where?
How?
Ah....then the awful truth...
It's a tax refund anticipation loan place.
Ugh.
Needless to say, there's tremendous faulty logic behind this message. But, how many people realize that?
Read this article to learn that over 12.3 MILLION folks took advantage of such a loan in 2004! I'm sure that number is much, much higher this year.
There is a couple I know who barely make it through each month, depending on quick-fix deals like this. They borrow $150, only to owe back $176. They continue their addictions to alcohol and cigarettes, high long-distance phone and cable bills, video games, etc., relying time and time again on the paycheck advance folks to front them money when the rent is due, when the car needs gas, or when dental problems become almost life-threatening.
Tough stuff. Hard to listen and love, without judgment or chastising or trying to "fix" them.
In my mind, the world should be more like "It's a Wonderful Life", where the community rallies together to provide support for a beloved member who's fallen on bad times. But the way we've adapted to an every-man-for-himself, independent, don't-threaten-my-rights society - simply encourages the use of these kind of places, replacing the responsibility of community with the band-aid approach to just make it through the week.
Happiness? I'm all for it.
But not the kind that money brings.
And certainly, I'm Not Buying the message that it can be found in a tax refund loan place on Main Street in Dayton, Ohio.
In fact, there are several of them proclaiming this message loudly in the windows of a business in downtown Dayton. I had to do a double take as I drove by. I was intrigued.
Happy?
What?
Where?
How?
Ah....then the awful truth...
It's a tax refund anticipation loan place.
Ugh.
Needless to say, there's tremendous faulty logic behind this message. But, how many people realize that?
Read this article to learn that over 12.3 MILLION folks took advantage of such a loan in 2004! I'm sure that number is much, much higher this year.
There is a couple I know who barely make it through each month, depending on quick-fix deals like this. They borrow $150, only to owe back $176. They continue their addictions to alcohol and cigarettes, high long-distance phone and cable bills, video games, etc., relying time and time again on the paycheck advance folks to front them money when the rent is due, when the car needs gas, or when dental problems become almost life-threatening.
Tough stuff. Hard to listen and love, without judgment or chastising or trying to "fix" them.
In my mind, the world should be more like "It's a Wonderful Life", where the community rallies together to provide support for a beloved member who's fallen on bad times. But the way we've adapted to an every-man-for-himself, independent, don't-threaten-my-rights society - simply encourages the use of these kind of places, replacing the responsibility of community with the band-aid approach to just make it through the week.
Happiness? I'm all for it.
But not the kind that money brings.
And certainly, I'm Not Buying the message that it can be found in a tax refund loan place on Main Street in Dayton, Ohio.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
The Spectrum of Reality
I'm struck lately by the odd nature of life. How we tend to refer to the bad stuff as *reality* or something that interrupts our otherwise pleasant, pain-free experience. ("Back to reality, now." "I got a major dose of reality this morning!" "Reality check!")
But this is faulty thinking.
It is all *real*.
My recent post over at Nerdy Renegade News gained its title from this very concept. I have found myself, over the past 48 hours or so, going through a roller coaster ride of experiences and emotions. And then witnessing my mind's attempts to trick me by categorizing them as either good or bad when, in fact, they all just ARE. They require no label. They are all a part of me and my life in this world at the present time.
We had an amazingly wonderful time on our concert trip to Cleveland. We came home to find a relative very sick in the hospital with what might be irreversible brain damage. Needless to say, my mind was having a hard time wrapping itself around the contrast.
So, this morning I immersed myself in the wisdom of Pema Chodron's words. If you haven't read her works, especially When Things Fall Apart, please allow me to highly recommend them to you.
Everything is real. And our attempts to seek pleasure and avoid pain are just ways our monkey mind has of tricking us into staying asleep. Preferring death over life, we cling to the familiar and try to insulate ourselves from the *bad* stuff. Or allow ourselves to get totally frazzled and knocked off kilter when they come, which they always will.
And herein lies my connection to spending! So much of it is based out of trying to meet an emotional need. I buy things to make myself feel better. If I can only *protect* myself by acquiring a possession, or groceries, or concert tickets, etc. then things will be alright.
I'm beginning to see the hilarious, faulty, never-ending cycle of this type of thinking. But, boy, is it hard to break. Instead of sitting with my uncomfortable emotions (much of what Pema Chodron and the Buddhist philosophy encourages us to do), I distract myself with shopping, acquiring, spending - or simply even surfing purchase options but not buying. :-0
Yes, of course, we needed the cat food and canned goods and toilet paper that I purchased last night. But I also realize that I was shopping to distract myself and provide a sense of comfort and accomplishment on what had been an otherwise yucky day.
And so the quest continues.
To root out the real reasons for my spending. To bring them to the surface, dust them off, look at them in the light - and accept them for what they are. And then, if need be, work diligently to replace them with healthier choices that will serve my higher self in more effective ways.
But this is faulty thinking.
It is all *real*.
My recent post over at Nerdy Renegade News gained its title from this very concept. I have found myself, over the past 48 hours or so, going through a roller coaster ride of experiences and emotions. And then witnessing my mind's attempts to trick me by categorizing them as either good or bad when, in fact, they all just ARE. They require no label. They are all a part of me and my life in this world at the present time.
We had an amazingly wonderful time on our concert trip to Cleveland. We came home to find a relative very sick in the hospital with what might be irreversible brain damage. Needless to say, my mind was having a hard time wrapping itself around the contrast.
So, this morning I immersed myself in the wisdom of Pema Chodron's words. If you haven't read her works, especially When Things Fall Apart, please allow me to highly recommend them to you.
Everything is real. And our attempts to seek pleasure and avoid pain are just ways our monkey mind has of tricking us into staying asleep. Preferring death over life, we cling to the familiar and try to insulate ourselves from the *bad* stuff. Or allow ourselves to get totally frazzled and knocked off kilter when they come, which they always will.
And herein lies my connection to spending! So much of it is based out of trying to meet an emotional need. I buy things to make myself feel better. If I can only *protect* myself by acquiring a possession, or groceries, or concert tickets, etc. then things will be alright.
I'm beginning to see the hilarious, faulty, never-ending cycle of this type of thinking. But, boy, is it hard to break. Instead of sitting with my uncomfortable emotions (much of what Pema Chodron and the Buddhist philosophy encourages us to do), I distract myself with shopping, acquiring, spending - or simply even surfing purchase options but not buying. :-0
Yes, of course, we needed the cat food and canned goods and toilet paper that I purchased last night. But I also realize that I was shopping to distract myself and provide a sense of comfort and accomplishment on what had been an otherwise yucky day.
And so the quest continues.
To root out the real reasons for my spending. To bring them to the surface, dust them off, look at them in the light - and accept them for what they are. And then, if need be, work diligently to replace them with healthier choices that will serve my higher self in more effective ways.
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