Shop Till You Drop (your soul)
With the biggest shopping day of the year just around the corner, I’m already thinking about ways to avoid the holiday rush. It’s got me on a few other rants too:
I’ve been listening to Speaking of Faith, a radio program and podcast on American Public Media which sparks some amazing conversations on ethics, religion, meaning, and more. Recently Krista Tippett did a episode on “Money and Moral Balance” (you can listen to it here). She spoke with Nathan Dungan. Dungan is a financial educator and president of Share-Save-Spend, an organization that helps people develop healthy financial habits. It’s a fascinating look at how our culture has moved to a new center – from freedom and a pioneering, adventurous spirit to capitalism and consumerism as the main force behind our culture. After the attacks on September 11, 2001, Bush urged his fellow Americans to show their American spirit and “go shopping”…ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
Bill McKibben, author of Deep Economy, wrote a book back in 1998 called Hundred Dollar Holiday: the Case for a More Joyful Christmas. The average American (averaged including children, the poor,) spends $863 dollars on Christmas presents. (Time) “What we need and long for now are the gifts of time, meaningful family connections, periods of silence, a relationship with the divine,” McKibben writes.
If I still haven’t convinced you to take a chill pill on the holidays, I just won’t shake ya – and I might as well show you this nifty tool.
Its a web wish list – meaning you can add items from any website. My wish list posted below for fun! Make a wish list and share it with me! We can yearn together.
Happy Turkey Day!
miller 11:26 pm on November 21, 2007 Permalink
no self respecting McKibben fan would ever post a web-gift-buyer thingy…
think local, man!
peace and happy shopping!
i’ll be holed up somewhere with a good book
anne 12:07 pm on November 24, 2007 Permalink
It’s so hard to give when you don’t know what people really need and you want your gifts to have meaning. So much is spent on junk.
Sometimes I feel like giving nothing at all. I think I’m going to try something new this year. For every gift I buy for friends and family, I will buy a gift for someone I don’t know who has real needs (children of prisoners, charitable causes, etc.). The truth is, I can’t afford this but I’m trying to find balance and meaning. And how to be truly generous and caring without going broke. Or getting stressed out. So far, not so good.
Something between Martha Stewart and Scrooge. Help!
Mark 2:42 pm on November 24, 2007 Permalink
“For every gift I buy for friends and family, I will buy a gift for someone I don’t know who has real needs (children of prisoners, charitable causes, etc.).”
Very creative idea Anne! (And nice blog too!) The point of my contention is that American Christians have so easily fallen into the Temples of Consumerism around the day celebrating their Lord’s birth – and I’m sick of having a lack of imagination. Your idea is a great step forward. What about other ideas?
What if we took the “Pay it Forward” idea seriously this time of year, each Christian committing to give to three people something that changed their life, then they passed that blessing on to three others. What gifts we would give! How the world would be changed!
Zach 11:46 pm on December 9, 2007 Permalink
Keep listening to Krista and SOF. She’s great! Every Monday morning she fills a podcasted hour in my lonely cubicle.