JOY - Dec 2010
'Tis the season to go shopping. The retailers are spending great amounts of advertising dollars to entice people to spend even more money than the retailers. It’s a big gamble. It will probably pay off.
Somewhere in the midst of the chaos of holidays, each of us is trying to find happiness, and maybe, if we’re paying attention, some joy -- while we’re shopping.
My problem is I’m not fond of shopping. I’m not fond of shopping at the grocery store or the mall or on the internet for that matter. I’m blessed by a husband who does the major grocery shopping each week, so I’m saved from that ordeal. Fortunately, I’m not wanting for many things, which saves me from the contortion of wanting something but dreading the process of getting it.
Yet every once in a great while, once or twice a year, I have a yearning to go shopping at the mall. I don’t really understand it. When the yearning bubbles up, I find myself uncomfortable with the desire for consumer consumption. Part of what bothers me is there is nothing natural about the mall and its bright and shiny environment, with a few trees that seem to survive despite the total lack of a supportive ecosystem. I’m a nature gal who would rather go hiking in the wilderness most any day than find a path through sale racks.
I understand the gratification factor of shopping. We desire something, and our brain kicks out pleasure chemicals. I do feel the pleasure that emerges when finding a good bargain. But I know it will pass. Right after the pleasure chemicals arrive, the brain releases its counter measure of aversion, similar to nicotine withdrawal, that comes with the payment at the register.
I’ve heard that a study found that when people contemplate death, they go shopping and or go on an eating binge. Seems when faced with our mortality we want to feel better. No surprise there.
I think the lesson is that “this too shall pass.” It’s an old and precious piece of wisdom. It’s a promise that time rules the flow of our lives. We feel happiness and precious moments of joy. We feel sadness and pangs of pain. In between we keep on moving through the routines and rituals of life. So I’ll not fight the ebb and flow. My goal in this season is to stay afloat, even when I find myself shopping -- because for a little while, I’ll feel joy.
Love, Kate Walker
My problem is I’m not fond of shopping. I’m not fond of shopping at the grocery store or the mall or on the internet for that matter. I’m blessed by a husband who does the major grocery shopping each week, so I’m saved from that ordeal. Fortunately, I’m not wanting for many things, which saves me from the contortion of wanting something but dreading the process of getting it.
Yet every once in a great while, once or twice a year, I have a yearning to go shopping at the mall. I don’t really understand it. When the yearning bubbles up, I find myself uncomfortable with the desire for consumer consumption. Part of what bothers me is there is nothing natural about the mall and its bright and shiny environment, with a few trees that seem to survive despite the total lack of a supportive ecosystem. I’m a nature gal who would rather go hiking in the wilderness most any day than find a path through sale racks.
I understand the gratification factor of shopping. We desire something, and our brain kicks out pleasure chemicals. I do feel the pleasure that emerges when finding a good bargain. But I know it will pass. Right after the pleasure chemicals arrive, the brain releases its counter measure of aversion, similar to nicotine withdrawal, that comes with the payment at the register.
I’ve heard that a study found that when people contemplate death, they go shopping and or go on an eating binge. Seems when faced with our mortality we want to feel better. No surprise there.
I think the lesson is that “this too shall pass.” It’s an old and precious piece of wisdom. It’s a promise that time rules the flow of our lives. We feel happiness and precious moments of joy. We feel sadness and pangs of pain. In between we keep on moving through the routines and rituals of life. So I’ll not fight the ebb and flow. My goal in this season is to stay afloat, even when I find myself shopping -- because for a little while, I’ll feel joy.
Love, Kate Walker
