Donate, sell, or toss things. If you haven't used it in the last 6 months? Gone. If it doesn't fit? Gone. If you don't know what it is? Gone. But it goes beyond removing things, you have to learn to then fight the urge to over-consume again. Richard Foster says this -- "Overconsumption is a "cancer eating away at our spiritual vitals." It cuts the heart right out of our compassion. It distances us from the great masses of broken bleeding humanity. It converts us into materialists. We become less able to ask moral questions. For example, just because we have the economic muscle to buy up vast amounts of the world's oil, does that give us the right to do so? When the poor farmer of India is unable to buy a gallon of gasoline to run his simple water pump because the world's demand has priced him out of the market, who is to blame?" -- Overconsumption is a plague that starts with owning too many t-shirts but leads to the oppression of the poor and disenfranchised. We would do best to fight the plague at the start and become people who are less dependent on the ownership of things. Donate, sell or toss.
Dec 31, 2024
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wear your shoes till the soles come off. you don’t need a new shirt. STOP mindlessly consuming things!!! enough!!! go sit outside for 10 minutes and think about if you are actually lacking anything material in your life (you’re probably not). if you do need new things have a thing-exchange with your friends it’s so fun! stop falling victim to overconsumption
Feb 2, 2024
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I'm still trying to practice what I preach here. Capitalism makes it pretty hard; they want to keep us buying things so instant pleasure and gratification is marketed and thrown at us everywhere, and makes us feel like to be accepted in society, we must always have the latest "thing." But I've started to realize nothing deeply good can come easy, or cheap for that matter. It feels way more satisfying to know I've purchased something of quality, something that means something to me, something that'll last, rather than a cheap fad that'll have to be replaced soon anyway. Not to mention knowing and caring WHERE your money is going (small businesses over large corporations, looking into what the company stands for.) There are so many times I've told myself I can't afford something I really want and am drawn to, when I've realized how much I've spent on stupid little cheap things that don't matter to me. For yourself, for others, for the planet, spend INTENTIONALLY. And if that means you end up owning less, good! And while you're at it, do a bit of Marie Condo-ing (but please, donate what you can for christ's sake.) You might experience a little withdraw with the lack of stuff and lack of spending, but I think overall you'll feel lighter, freer and more satisfied!
Jun 19, 2024
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Stuff. We all have it, but there's always that person who has clearly put no thought into the implications of buying tons of useless crap. Yes, corporations are responsible for a majority of our ecological woes, but we still have choice and an opportunity to set examples.
Oct 20, 2024
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You never really prepare for how violently fast it can be too. We end a relationship or friendship on a Monday morning, and by that afternoon you've seen something that reminds you of them. Tuesday comes and you hear their favorite song. Thursday night you see a stupid video that you know they'd love. A week passes, a month, or even a year and you get better and move on and forget and then you hear their name on a TV show and you're brought back to them and you realize their birthday passed and they're older now and you don't know them anymore.
i have always known this. that people come and go. but it was only recently that this statement really… struck me. i guess that no matter how much you want people to stay in your life, sometimes it‘s just inevitable. though it was hard at first to let go of ‘your person’, i also realized that relationships are maintained by more than just one person.
so no matter how much you want to keep those people in your life, to save the relationship and connection that you have, at the end of the day, they also have a say in what they feel and what they want. and if what they want is to be out of your life, then the best thing that you could do is to accept and respect that.
it’s the best thing that you could do. not only for them, but also for you.
Dec 31, 2024
Dec 31, 2024