Jammin' Me ... my anti-consumer lifestyle rant

[Moneo]

Anybody else remember this Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers track from the 80s? Okay, it’s a little bit dated because some of the pop-cultural references contained in it, but it’s become my personal anthem lately.

Because I’ve had it with the consumerist/materialist culture we live in and I’ve decided I’m getting out. This has been a long time coming really, and it’s going to take some doing (fueled and supported by an awful lot of prayer and penance) but I’m done. It’s over, I’m finished; I don’t believe in the consumer culture that’s killing us all and I want out! I want Christ and that’s it.

Step #1 happened back in the autumn. I had to move because it was impossible for me to renew the lease on the old flat I had been living in and the new place had no antenna or cable hook-up for the television. Instead of calling to have it installed, I just decided not to hook it up. I hate television anyway. For every good programme there are half a dozen crummy or downright morally offensive ones, and I just decided that I didn’t want the hassle anymore. Switching the TV on is, in my opinion, like inviting a bunch of strangers into your home and then sitting there passively while they insult and denigrate your moral principles and religious faith in ways both overt and subtle.

I don’t care that I can’t get the daily news on TV if I’m not hooked up either. I hate watching the news too, because I hate feeling like someone’s trying to manipulate and brainwash me. Plus, (and I’m sorry if this offends anyone) I don’t actually think that I need to hear or watch the news every day. I know what’s going on out there and getting the blow-by-blow gory details every day just isn’t necessary, and it irritates me.

Step #2 was Christmas time. I had a great Christmas. I didn’t buy one, single gift. Sound selfish? It wasn’t. I went out with friends for drinks. We had dinner. I got invites to friend’s houses on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day and today, Three King’s Day. I took a couple of bottles of wine over every time I got a dinner invite and I helped with the cooking. And we had fun. We laughed, we talked, we toasted, we enjoyed each other’s company and no one blew their budgets and went into debt… I didn’t set foot in a single shop or department store the whole time. It was great!!

No, I didn’t receive any gifts either, except for the best ones of all. I got to be with the people that matter to me, go to daily Mass and to rest at Christmas time.

Step #3 has just begun. I was sitting in the living room of my flat the other day, looking at the shelves and remembering my last move this past summer. And I was feeling a bit nervous and irritated because the new place isn’t all I’d hoped and I may have to move again in a couple of months. And the thought just made me feel exhausted and depressed because I HAVE TOO MUCH JUNK!!

So, in a sort of St. Francis of Assisi fit, I decided to get rid of most of it. I looked at the books and said to myself, “You have books on those shelves that you haven’t read or even opened in a decade! Get rid of them!” So, I have begun donating box loads of books to the university library, to friends and to other places that want them. And with every pile that goes out the door, the better I feel. I love books, but I’m a compulsive book buyer and I just need to knock it off. No more books for the foreseeable future. That’s why God created libraries.

The CDs and DVDs are a harder call. and I’m still not sure I will be able to get rid of them. I love music and I listen to it nearly all the time, but I have at least resolved for the time being that I have enough of it and I will not be buying anymore for the foreseeable future. No CDs, no Ipod Store downloads, no DVDs.

Oh, and I shredded the credit cards too. If I need something, I pay cash. If I don’t have enough money for it, I don’t need it. I have resolved that all of my money for the next six months goes on rent, bills, food, clothes and a night out with friends each week for psychic maintenance purposes. But even there I’m planning to have my friends over to my house for dinner more often instead of going out to eat as often.

Man I’m starting to feel good. And I’m just getting started, baby…

Anybody else ever taken similar steps?

 

[mommyof4]

Good luck to you. I take it this doesn’t mean that you’re not going to use the internet? Let us know how this goes.

(I hear ya about having too much stuff- I’ve been on a mission for several months to get rid of all of my extra “stuff.”)

 

[Moneo]

The internet, for the time being, is a necessity because I work from home part-time. However, I am taking steps to limit the number of hours spent on non-work-related activities on the 'net. This is why I have posted relatively infrequently on the CAF in the past few months …

Even in leisure terms, I guess I feel that I have more direct control over the internet than I do over television. I choose what pages I go to, how my filters are set, and it’s a bit more interactive … at least it seems that way. If I read an editorial on the 'net that I don’t agree with, there’s usually a comment box where one can try and respond.

And I have to admit that I like the CA Forums and web site, so they would be hard to give up.

I’m taking it by steps in any case. Just like weight training, one has to build up the muscles gradually. I don’t believe in complete cold turkey–that’s normally a recipe for failure!

 

[JimR-OCDS]

To live a life in the spirit of poverty, is different than abandoning all material pleasures. The spirit of poverty calls us to use what God has given us and be thankful for the gifts, but not to become attached to them. It also calls us to look to God for all of our needs, but this doesn’t mean quiting your job and waiting for some one to show up with your next meal, but rather, be open to the things God sends your way, including your job.

You say you love your music and giving up your CD’s would be difficult. Well don’t. Music is a gift from God and meant to be enjoyed.

As far as books go, I have given up buying books. When I remodeled my home last year, my wife and myself ended up donating 10 shopping bags of books to charity. I went and joined the public library. Now, most of my reading material comes from there. However, spiritual reading isn’t so available at the public library, but I’ve kept the spiritual books that are important to me, and I’ll never finish them anyway.

Also, if we were all to give up buying material things, we’d all be living in destitution. The reason why I have a job, is because some one wants to buy the product I produce. So, purchasing material things, which are not in excess, is not only OK, but it helps provide jobs to others.

A good book on the subject is Happy Are the Poor: The Simple Life and Spiritual Freedom, by Fr Thomas Dubay.

Also, no one can live a simple life without reading Waldon Pond, by Henry David Thoreau.
Its a must!

Jim

 

[John_Russell_Jr]

Conversations > Passionately Loving the World > Number 115http://www.escrivaworks.org/images/misc/pixtrans.gifhttp://www.escrivaworks.org/images/misc/pixtrans.gif115http://www.escrivaworks.org/images/misc/pixtrans.gifAuthentic Christianity, which professes the resurrection of all flesh, has always quite logically opposed ‘dis-incarnation’, without fear of being judged materialistic. We can, therefore, rightfully speak of a ‘Christian materialism’, which is boldly opposed to that materialism which is blind to the spirit.

What are the Sacraments, which early Christians described as the foot-prints of the Incarnate Word, if not the clearest manifestation of this way which God has chosen in order to sanctify us and to lead us to heaven? Don’t you see that each Sacrament is the Love of God, with all its creative and redemptive power, giving itself to us by way of material means? What is this Eucharist which we are about to celebrate, if not the adorable Body and Blood of our Redeemer, which is offered to us through the lowly matter of this world (wine and bread), through the ‘elements of nature, cultivated by man,’ as the recent Ecumenical Council has reminded us (cf. Gaudium et Spes, 38).

It is understandable that the Apostle should write: ‘All things are yours, you are Christ’s and Christ is God’s’ (1 Cor 3:22-23). We have here an ascending movement which the Holy Spirit, infused in our hearts, wants to call forth from this world, upwards from the earth to the glory of the Lord. And to make it clear that in that movement everything is included, even what seems most commonplace, St. Paul also wrote: ‘in eating, in drinking, do everything as for God’s glory’ (cf 1 Cor 10:32).

 

[Moneo]

Thanks for your insights Jim! I really appreciate it. On the basis of what you wrote,here are some more thoughts …

To live a life in the spirit of poverty, is different than abandoning all material pleasures. The spirit of poverty calls us to use what God has given us and be thankful for the gifts, but not to become attached to them.

In my experience, it has been almost impossible to have things and avoid the attachment to them that inevitably seems to follow the having. I’m doing what I said, but it’s a challenge. For example, while packing up boxes of books to donate, each book is difficult to put in the box, even if I *know *rationally that i’ve not looked at the book in five years and it’s unlikely that I will in the next five either. Packing the box takes forever too in most cases, because each book gets agonised over.

So isn’t attachment to things pretty much a given in most human beings? Isn’t it natural? I also think that no matter how much stuff I give away, there’s the danger of more stuff rolling in to fill the void, like in the teaching of Jesus in the Gospel about the man from whom a demon was expelled, which in turn went out and found seven more even worse than itself and came back to reclaim the man’s soul. Nature abhors a vacuum, and so this is why I said “supported by a whole lot of prayer and penance” in my first post. If I don’t substitute my attachment to the “stuff” with something else, the attachment will reappear, perhaps accompanied by a couple of other vices like greed or something.

You say you love your music and giving up your CD’s would be difficult. Well don’t. Music is a gift from God and meant to be enjoyed.

Something that George Harrison once said in an interview has always summed up my feelings about music–quoting from some Hindu book he said “God likes me when I work, but he loves me when I sing.” So, yeah, I agree; music is a gift from God. I play music as well and I really do feel that not developing that gift by playing and singing would be an act of ingratitude to God.

As far as books go, I have given up buying books. When I remodeled my home last year, my wife and myself ended up donating 10 shopping bags of books to charity. I went and joined the public library. Now, most of my reading material comes from there. However, spiritual reading isn’t so available at the public library, but I’ve kept the spiritual books that are important to me, and I’ll never finish them anyway.

This is where I’m aiming too, at least vis-a-vis the books. The public library system here isn’t all that hot, but I have access to the university library too.

Also, if we were all to give up buying material things, we’d all be living in destitution. The reason why I have a job, is because some one wants to buy the product I produce. So, purchasing material things, which are not in excess, is not only OK, but it helps provide jobs to others.

True enough, but for the forseeable future I plan to keep only those folks who work in the clothing, agricultural and food distribution industries busy with my purchases (okay, and the local music shop … guitar strings do have to be replaced every now and again … )

A good book on the subject is Happy Are the Poor: The Simple Life and Spiritual Freedom, by Fr Thomas Dubay. Also, no one can live a simple life without reading Waldon Pond, by Henry David Thoreau. Its a must!

:bigyikes: Aack! We’re talking about getting rid of books, not getting new ones! Get thee behind me, Border’s!

 

[Maxply]

Moneo: you’re my buddy! I stopped having that TV connection many years ago, for the same reasons. I’m tripping over old possession while desiring new ones–Good Lord! Good grief!

The simplest things are best. What good is a $100 million yacht, unless it’s to stuff it over the guy with the mere $99 million boat? The best times for me are with friends, having a good conversation, etc.

 

[mommyof4]

Moneo: you’re my buddy! I stopped having that TV connection many years ago, for the same reasons. I’m tripping over old possession while desiring new ones–Good Lord! Good grief!

The simplest things are best. What good is a $100 million yacht, unless it’s to stuff it over the guy with the mere $99 million boat? The best times for me are with friends, having a good conversation, etc.

Can we visit on on the $100 million yacht, though?

 

[TOP]

Can we visit on on the $100 million yacht, though?

Yeah, we could be friends and have a good conversation right after we ride the jet ski’s.

 

[mommyof4]

Yeah, we could be friends and have a good conversation right after we ride the jet ski’s.

Now we’re talking. But we’re totally detached from these material goods, don’t you know.

 

[Maxply]

You know, the problem with the $100 million yacht is its proper care and feeding:

expensive mooring
expensive equipment
expensive repairs
fear of damage
fear of various kinds of theft, etc.

Such a hassle! My big thing would be a dented secondhand aluminum canoe to use on occasion. . . but then again, how many weekends in a summer do I have time to go canoeing? It’d just sit there!

 

[Moneo]

Moneo: you’re my buddy! I stopped having that TV connection many years ago, for the same reasons. I’m tripping over old possession while desiring new ones–Good Lord! Good grief! The simplest things are best. What good is a $100 million yacht, unless it’s to stuff it over the guy with the mere $99 million boat? The best times for me are with friends, having a good conversation, etc.

I’d dig hanging out on the $100K yacht too. I’m anybody’s for a freebie …

Christmas was incredible this year, though. It felt so good to get out of the shopping rat race and just go to Mass, get together with friends and celebrate the holiday without going broke in the process. Yesterday, for example, was Three King’s Day here and a buddy of my mine came over to my flat and, as his Christmas gift to me, made a tasty Spanish omelette (tortilla) of eggs, onion, potatoes and spicy sausage. We ate it with a big salad, washed it down with bottle of red wine and toasted the final day of the Christmas season, and just hung out and talked well into the late evening.

Eveybody complains about how “commercial Christmas has become” or how much “garbage there is on TV”, but when it comes to taking the big step and making the break, we often find ourselves pulled in by force of habit, family pressure, society etc. It’s hard, and I wouldn’t want to come off like I’m judging anyone who can’t do it or doesn’t agree with me, I’m just really glad that I was able to do it differently this year.

This doesn’t mean that I will never buy anyone another Christmas gift either–I just hope I’ll never again feel *obligated *to take part in the whole shopping frenzy at Christmastime ever again.

 

[Maxply]

Well, Moneo, you caught me. . . yes, that was MY $100 million dollar yacht I was referring to!