let there be stuff (but not too much!)

"Our enormously productive economy… demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and using of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfaction, our ego satisfaction, in consumption… we need things consumed, burned up, replaced and discarded at an ever-accelerating rate..." (Victor Lebow)

On that note, I decided to attempt one week without buying any new stuff. I wanted to get a better sense of what my true needs are, and how often I'm tempted to buy something just for the sake of buying. I wanted to understand just how true Lebow's words are to my own life.

The week was, for the most part, a success. In seven days, I purchased only two things: a plastic bag and a serving dish to transport my thanksgiving goodies in. Both of these items could have been altogether avoided with better planning, but they were the more convenient option at the time. I spent under $5 on new stuff, a tiny fraction of what I usually do. My bank account is a lot healthier than it usually is at this point in the month (we get paid monthly so it's easy to compare months). My house is a little less cluttered. All good things, except that I definitely struggled this week. It turns that I don't really need anything more than I already have, but I want a whole lot more! This week was an exercise in will power and in convincing myself that I didn't really need that miscellaneous item, regardless of how deprived I feel without it.

On my most deprived days, I made a point of thinking up strategies for enjoying "new" stuff and at the same time, reducing my carbon footprint. Here are my top three ways to reducing the amount of stuff we're drowning in:

1. Invest. Think quality, not quantity. Buy pieces that outlive their perceived and planned obsolescence, and buy fewer of them.
2. Share. Borrow library books instead of buying new ones. Give away old clothes to secondhand stores where others can convert your junk into their treasures.
3. Technologize. Read the paper online. Purchase electronic magazine subscriptions. Read e-books (if you can; I'm still learning).

While I can't promise I'll be so thoughtful every week for the remainder of this happy, healthy year, I will commit to thinking a little more before I purchase. I will assess my "wants" for new stuff through these three filters first to see what I can actually do without. Somewhere between buying too much and nothing at all, there is buying just enough so you that you can enjoy the finer things in life without contributing too much to the 2,000 trees that are cleared every minute in the amazon.

Etc, etc.

mxo

gobble gobble (veggie styles!)

Thanksgiving is quickly becoming one of my favourite holidays. We didn't celebrate Thanksgiving in Poland (for obvious historical reasons), so I never grew up with the holiday, but I've got to experience many wonderful Thanksgivings with the hubby-to-be's family... and it's recently been picked up by my family as well (yay!)

Leaving aside all politics about the origins of the holiday, I love it because it has nothing to do with presents, money, consumerism, etc (at least not for us). It's about family, friends, wonderful food, and, most importantly, being grateful for all that this western life affords us.

In no particular order, my heart is bursting with gratitude for:

• My hubby-to-be. He is such a wonderful man.
• My family, and how we have all grown together.
• My new family. They are the most loving, generous people in the world.
• My friends. I can truly say I know the world's best people.
• My cat. Bundles and bundles of unconditional love.
• My house, in this lovely city. How fortunate am I to have a roof over my head, and such a wonderful one at that?!
• All of the food in my tummy and the leftovers in the fridge… and never having to worry about there being more.
• My job. It took one page of the book I'm reading to put things back into perspective.
• Etc, etc... and so much more after that.

I could not be happier.

mxo

P.S. What are you grateful for? :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Charlie and I would like to wish all of you a happy, happy Thanksgiving!

Here is our attempt at a nice photo for you, as narrated by Charlie.

"Why is the white box making noises?"

"Oooh, leaf!!!"

"This hairdo of yours just won't do. Let's fix that immediately."

"Streeeeeeeetch"

"Oh my god, is that a leaf again?!"

"Another strrrrreetch."

To which I then said, "forget it!"

Happy Thanksgiving! :)

mxo

yoga pose of the week: savasana

I am sick. :(

It's nothing serious - just a runny nose, congested head, itchy throat and aches all over - but certainly too sick for yoga. The only yoga I've been able to do since Sunday is, well, no yoga. I read about yoga and think longingly about yoga, but that's it. :(

In light of my pathetic state, this week's yoga pose is good, old savasana (a.k.a. corpse pose) - the only yoga pose I can muster this week.

This is savasana:

(from Yoga Journal)

Savasana is usually practiced briefly at the beginning of the class, and at length at the end of a class. It is meant to be a chance for your body to soak up all of the new information it has just acquired in the last 60, 90, whatever minutes of yoga. This therapeutic pose also helps to relieve stress, reduce headaches and fatigue, alleviate insomnia, and lower blood pressure. It can be the most restorative pose of all.

Sure, it looks easy, but some days it is one of the most difficult poses. Ten plus minutes of lying still, ridiculously sweaty and exhausted, trying just to focus on your breath and nothing else - sometimes it's the very last thing I want to do! But every time I feel as though I'm suffering through it, savasana always inevitably reminds me that yoga is so much more than just a killer workout. It's about learning to be still, and resilient, however difficult it may be.

mxo

the story of stuff...

First, watch this:

Our society produces, consumes, and disposes of way too much stuff, far too quickly. I am as guilty as any other middle class member of this western society. My house is cluttered with stuff. Books, clothes, electronics, other toys, and just a whole lot of stuff. I have so much stuff, I don't even remember half of the stuff I own. As I've been hemorrhaging cash over the past few days, I've become very conscious of just how much money I spend on unnecessary stuff, and how quick I am to spend it. "I need new [insert miscellaneous desired item here]" is a phrase I utter far too often. Last week it was boots; this week it's an anti-slip yoga towel. But after seeing The Story of Stuff, I can't help but ask myself, "do I really need [insert miscellaneous desired item here]?" The answer, almost always, is no.

It seems that I am so engrained into this society, that I eat up the planned and perceived obsolescence fed to me by the marketing machine. I don't need new boots; I want new boots because I've had mine for three years and they feel dated. They are perfectly good boots. Sure, an anti-slip yoga towel would be amazing, but I can just as easily rent one of the yoga mats at the studio which have done the trick for the past year. So much of the time, we think we need something because we're spoon fed advertisements that tell what we have isn't good enough anymore. Sometimes we actually need something new because our old something simply broke down, just as it was designed to do, far too quickly than it should. The overwhelming majority of what we purchase is disposed of in six months because that's exactly how our consumerist society is designed. Not only is this absolutely nutty, it's also incredibly dangerous. Where is all of that junk going to go? What the heck is this planet going to look like in 10, 20, 50 years? And we can't even say we're having fun with all of our stuff! As the documentary points out, the increase in stuff has directly corresponded to the decline of national happiness. We're drowning in our stuff!

All of this is sitting too heavily on my conscience for me to go on spending as I was before. It's time for a change, and on that note, I'm adding another challenge to this money month: one week without buying any new stuff.

What does this mean logistically:

• No buying of new stuff that isn't absolutely essentially (i.e. if I need it to live, I am buying it). No new boots, anti-slip yoga towels, clothes, makeup, etc. I already have too much of that stuff anyways.
• Rephrase "I need [blank] " to "I can fix [blank]", "I can use [blank] instead", or ideally, "I can actually live without [blank] altogether".
• Repurpose stuff I already own that I no longer need. Donate it, reuse it, and hopefully prevent someone else from acquiring more of the new stuff our planet just can't support.

A few caveats:

• Purchasing something to replace something broken beyond repair, so long as this broken something is truly essential, is allowed. If I can't live without the thing that might hypothetically break, and I can't somehow fix it, I can buy it.
• Food and items that will be consumed do not fall into this equation. I need to eat.

Here is my chance to prove to myself that I am worth more than the stuff I own.

Hope you're all having a fantastic weekend!

mxo

one more thing...

One of my lovely, lovely friends left an amazing comment on my previous post that I think deserves it's own post.

Amanda suggested that, on this here World Vegetarian Day, you also check out this amazing video:

Graham's idea of being a weekday veg is absolutely brilliant. This is now my solution to my ongoing battle with becoming a vegan. I'm going to become a weekday vegan!

"After all, if all of us ate half as much meat, it would be like half of us would be vegetarians."

Thanks Amanda!!!

mxo

Happy World Vegetarian Day!

Happy World Vegetarian Day, everyone!

To kick off Vegetarian Awareness Month, I want to share a great documentary I think all Canadians must watch: Global National's Revealed: No Country for Animals. It's not preachy, but it does ask you to open your eyes.

... and finally, happy weekend! It couldn't have come quickly enough for me!

mxo