So here's the thing. I was reflecting on the purpose of the things in my life. I have everything I need in my life, so the new things I buy rarely serve a purpose beyond making me feel fulfilled and happy. But the happiness and excitement that comes with acquiring my new thing never lasts, so I'm left reeling to find another new thing to satisfy those feelings. A lot of the time it feels like a good percentage of my brain activity is used to think about where I could look next to find my new thing.
It doesn't feel good to realize the amount of environmental degradation and inequality that my personal consumption causes in the world. I envision a life for myself and for others where we focus on our personal relationships, cultivating community, and taking meaningful actions that help us find those feelings of happiness, satisfaction, and excitement without causing harm to our planet and our people. I want to focus on my values, like making the most of the clothes I already own. I can do this by finding new ways to style them, taking proper care of them and repairing them as needed (instead of donating them). I also value my personal relationships, and will work to cultivate those as a means of arriving at the same feelings of happiness, where my brain will spend less time searching tirelessly for a new thing and will spend more time making memories with my friends, participating in my community, and engaging more with the world in front of me. Being in nature is one of my favourite ways to stimulate the part of my brain that likes new-ness and excitement. There's so much to explore and so many things to see and feel, so I will focus on satisfying those needs while I am out on my hikes and bike rides. I'd love to hear the ways you might be choosing to find happiness in your life that doesn't include the consumption of new products!
I found that I resonated a lot with your reflection. Not only is materialistic desire a superficial and self-destructive way to seek gratification, but it is harmful to the environment. Instead, I also greatly enjoy spending with my friends and family as they're more important to me than anything else!
In the end, it's all about finding that balance and making choices that line up with what you believe in. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, and I hope more folks will be inspired to find happiness in ways that are good for the planet and their hearts
Hi Irina! Reading your reflection really inspired me and made me reconsider my own consumption habits. Since this post, have you noticed your consumption changed?
I really like how you focused in on things you will do! That's really tricky to do, becuase we're so used to living a certain way. I love being in nature too and going for walks.
You explain very nicely why so many people fall victim to fast fashion trends. Sometimes buying new things literally feels like a high, and when the high comes down, people buy more goods to feel it again. Fast fashion spreads this form of shopping addiction without people even realizing they are addicted.
Really nice words to express how I think a lot of us are feeling!
Hi Irina, I thought this was a wonderful and very relatable post. Thank you for this!!