ask why so many people want to 'have', 'get' and 'buy' instead of 'be', 'do', 'learn' and 'know', and perhaps make a few people stop and think about it

and this is not the kind of goal which one necessarily “completes”, so it’s time to take it off the list and make room for a new goal.

I guess I do understand why so many people want to ‘have’, ‘get’ and ‘buy’ instead of ‘be’, ‘do’, ‘learn’ and ‘know’, but I don’t think I’ve made anyone stop and think about it. I mean, 43T is great, but it’s basically like preaching to the converted.

Not that I want to preach at anyone.

I expect that we could all use more self-discipline – I know I could!

It’s tough to really force yourself to look at what you use for escape. For me I guess it’s partly the internet, reading, or writing notes to myself (thinking, planning, imagining).

And yes, before I admitted to myself that I had my own little escape routes, I did sometimes feel “superior” to people who spend all their free time watching TV, playing video games, shopping, etc.

Bad me :-(

Anyway, I do still waste a lot of time, so 2007 will be my year of acquiring GOOD habits :-)

I hope.

in a book I was reading last week, that explained this phenomenon quite well. It seems to be based on Toffler’s ‘Futureshock’ idea. I read that a while ago but it went something like this:

Due to the increasing pace of change in society, many people have limited capacity to adapt to these changes AND also to make deliberate, informed choices about all aspects of life.

Perhaps we have too many (mostly trivial) choices to make every day – so we start to do some things on autopilot. This saves our cognitive energy for more important decisions. (I’d imagine it also makes us more susceptible to clever advertising and convenience items).

To cope with change many of us also immerse ourselves in mindless activities to varying degrees (TV, video games, shopping, celebrity gossip, slot machines, etc), and call it relaxation. But the relaxation can become addictive.

Didn’t explain that well, but I’ll try to find the passage again when I have time.

I hate buying presents when I’m obligated to buy a present. Which usually means, Christmas or birthdays.

I’m not a scrooge about the money, it’s just that – personally, I don’t like receiving gifts that just seem to say, “Um, I felt obligated to spend some money on you so here’s a generic thing that you don’t even want, to clutter up your house”.

My last birthday, I got perfect gifts – flowers from my new boyfriend, who’s an ocean away; and my friends treated me to dinner at a funky restaurant, and gave me a funny card.

Last Christmas I got the perfect gift from my parents – my mom had scanned all our old family photos onto a cd, and sent it to me in Japan. Some of them I hadn’t even seen before. Cool!

Now, my point is that my boyfriend’s birthday is coming up, and I know he won’t want flowers.

I don’t mind spending money, but I want to get him something thoughtful, which reflects what he’d like to receive, but also shows my personality too. It’s tough, because we haven’t spent all that much time together yet in person, and I’m a long way away (i.e. If I get him concert tickets or something, he’ll just complain that he wants to go with me, not his friend, etc.).

I have the beginnings of an idea, though.

It’s very likely that I am hyper-aware of this because I am living in a foreign (to me) country. When I lived in Canada, I knew that most people seemed to be consuming lots of stuff they didn’t need (and getting in debt over it too!).

But here in Japan, it’s absolutely ridiculous. It seems that shopping is a way to show patriotism. The economy’s “bad”? Go shopping – it’ll help the economy! The economy’s good? Go shopping – you’ve been working hard, you deserve another designer handbag!

Plus blindly following trends, having no conscience whatsoever. I don’t know, I’ve been away for a few years, but I’d have a hard time believing that in Canada everyone is buying fur-covered handbags, or fur-collared jackets (I’m talking a cheap $40 winter jacket, with fur on it. And after the new year, it’s on sale for $20). These would be the same 20-year old girls who think that clubbing baby seals is horrible, then in the next breath mention that white fur collared jacket they just bought is so CUUUUUTE! And they don’t make the connection. At all.

I don’t know, maybe it IS like that back home. I really hope not. I guess I’ll find out next year!

/end rant. (No, I’m not an animal rights activist, I’m just a rational person scratching her head in wonder.)

what a trap consumerism is. And it’s so pervasive, it just sneaks up on you…

I often feel a sense of relief that I don’t watch TV, because I know I would struggle with this even more if I watched TV in my downtime.

Don’t get me wrong, I do spend money. But I tend to spend money more on books, courses, travel, experiences. (Okay, and too much in restaurants!)

Sometimes I do have an urge to go shopping though. Even when there isn’t anything I specifically need. I don’t know why that is.