Hello. My name is Kristen and I am a Consumer Addict. I am in recovery, though it is a daily struggle as the temptations are multiple and around me all the time.
There is a story from my childhood that I remember when the urge to buy becomes too strong. I share that with you in hopes that - from one addict to another - it may be of some help to you.
When I was a child, my mother carried a purse everywhere she went. I quickly learned that magic things came out of the purse, like gum sticks and hard candy. As I grew, I noted that my mother's purse kept changing. New purses replaced old purses so that her collection of purses continued to grow. That, albeit a sure sign of consumerism, however, was not what 'caught my eye'. Rather, it was the fact that ever more treasures and stuff could be found in that purse, stuff belonging not only to her, but to me and my brothers and my father... I need only ask - a budding consumerism skill - and it would appear from deep within the recesses of that purse.
By the time I was a teenager, the purse, once small and easily carried in the crux of her arm, was now the size of a small suitcase. A huge purse like that was required to carry all the things my mother had collected. And, the purse itself had become a burden, too big to tuck under her arm and so heavy it required not one, but two, straps around her shoulder.
At some point, perhaps in my late teens, the whole situation started to seem quite bizarre to me. 'Why', I wondered, 'must my mother carry such a huge luggage/purse?' 'What is in there anyway?' And, 'does she really need all that stuff?'
As I searched for answers to these questions, I started to come into my own understanding of the subtle, yet ever so powerful, grasp of consumerism on each moment of our day and every aspect of our lives. We are literally programmed into it from the time we are born. But, like the most powerful of propaganda ploys, it's true essence is never revealed to us. We are taught to be blind, to just buy, to add more and more to our 'purse', never questioning why, or whether we need it, or what the consequences for someone else might be if we succumb to the addiction and buy it...
So, at that young age, I made a decision that I would never allow myself to fall into the 'bigger purse' syndrome. I decided that if I couldn't fit 'it' into my small purse, then I didn't need it. This forced me to stay aware of, and to consciously consider, the relative values of 'things'. It helped me to emerge from the dark oblivion of 'buy, buy, buy'. To this day, those of you who know me know that I carry the smallest of purses.
And the lesson has been important for the rest of my life. Like now, I have my own room. The addict in me wants to fill it. And, I caught myself delightedly spending, spending, spending the last couple weeks as the addict found its vise. But, then I remembered the purse story and it stopped me. It gave me pause and helped me to gain perspective so that I could once again act from my center and my beliefs, not according to this deep-set addiction.
I think I will always be a consumerism addict, but I am in recovery, as I hope many are. So, I offer this not in jest or to be sarcastic, but from a very real place deep in my soul/spirit that recognizes the tenuous nature of life on this planet and the need for us all to contribute to that life...for all people, not just those of us, who by accident of birth, have access to more than so many others.
my love to you all
k
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