Happiness Starts at the Stuffmart...

Ok.
It's a problem.
Not just my problem; it's a big problem.
I haven't felt safe enough to say it until...

Until....

They went and made a FaceBook page about it.
Now I feel safe enough to talk about it.

I TOO went to Target for shampoo and spent a hundred fifty dollars!!!!

What is it with this spending, buying, consuming, aquiring, stashing, hording, amassing----don't make me get the thesaurus----purchasing, bargain hunting??? Well we'll save money if we buy that! Right???
Sorry to say, friends, NOOOO!!!
We'll save money if we DON'T buy that!

Seriously, do I have to wait till Bath and Body Works January/June sale so I can stock pile hand soap and shower gel? Really? I need a different fragrance for each season? REALLY?
How about lipstick? Come on, fess up girls. Do I really need another one only a shade and a half from the 73 I already own? Oh! This one has plumperrrrr....yea, we need the plumperrrrr....
Candles, we need candles. Every flavor. Change with the seasons too. Not.
Socks 'cause they're on sale? Books? I must have ten books on the same concepts by ten different authors. Well now I need a smart looking tote bag for these books, right? How about a new handbag because, well, I don't have THAT color yet? Sundress cause it was cheap? Flip flops to match? Earrings too? Sun glasses? I know! Let's go to the OUTLETS!
GEEZE!

I realized, this week, that I truly have a problem. I was picking up a family member from the hospital after they were done with testing. (No worries, all is well.)
The hospital! You'd think I'd be safe there, right? As it turns out, on this particular day, the gift shop was having a close out sale to move inventory.
Okay, fair enough, I didn't have to go into the gift shop. Exactly. I didn't even have to go in! They had these crazy tables all over the lobby! It was like a flea market. So of COURSE I had to look. Come on! He was in recovery for an hour and a half! What's a girl to do??
I found a sweet tea scented candle. Twenty bucks. Whew. Put that down. Even at half price I don't need a lavender candle for ten. They had the same fragrance a size or two smaller. Six dollars. Half price. That makes three. I also had my youngest with me who wanted to buy a present for the person we were there to pick up.
Okay. A mug with a sweet saying. She's so thoughtful. Five bucks.
So my total purchase was eight dollars.
She was so sorry ma'am. They only took a debit card on purchases of $10 or more.
This was my moment. I could A)put the crap down and walk. or B)find another small item to make the $10 minimum or C)there's an ATM right over there ma'am where you can get some cash.
Yea. I went to the ATM. Took out the cash and made the purchase.

What void are we trying to fill?
What are we avoiding looking at and instead aquiring all this stuff to look at?
What anxieties will truly be calmed by more stuff?
Out of curiosity, is this unique to American culture?
Anyone?

This I know.
I lack nothing.
Serenity and peace are but one breath away.
My life is more abundant without this distracting stuff. Instead of time spent aquiring, then taking care of, then working to make more money to aquire more, how about a little simple abundance.
How about abundance of time spent with loved ones?
How about abundance of time spent with your Self?
How about abundance of natural beauty in the world around you to enjoy?
How about abundance of peace in letting go of the need to have more?
I lack nothing.
Neither do you.
Let's just be. We are after all human beings. We are not human doings nor are we human havings.

A few months back I blogged on frugality. While I am still pretty good at most concepts stated, I've not yet conquered this frivilous spending. Cutting corners at the grocery store does not justify spending the savings on junk I don't need!

I declare a DO OVER!
For the next sixty days I commit (uh oh...publicly)to a spending freeze. If the item is not an essential neccessity it's not going in the cart. Period.
I will use every drop of everything I already have before replacing it.
I'll maybe even find new ways to use old stuff. It's just enough already.


Who's in?