So, like everyone else, I’ve been stuck at home for awhile with outside tensions mounting, people divided and not knowing what to think. Where do I turn in my times of great stress? Online shopping.
Sound Familiar?
Don’t be ashamed.
In times of stress, it’s natural that we turn to the things we believe will make us happy. THINGS being the operative word.
I don’t know about you but 2 extra yoga blocks, new pillowcases and an assortment of a dozen scented candles are not going to make me happy. They may ease my “pain” temporarily, but they aren’t a solution.
It’s like a balloon deflating. The anticipation of waiting and receiving something that makes us “high” but as soon as that package is torn open and made its place in your home, the elation subsides and the anxiety is bound to return.
My latest guilty pleasure was buying a T-shirt from the Camp I went to when I was a teenager. Do I NEED another t-shirt? Absolutely not! Did I HAVE TO HAVE this particular t-shirt?
100% YES.
I further justified the expense because proceeds were going to help COVID Relief.
You can create an emotional attachment to an object because it momentarily distracts you from what you’re feeling. The thought of wearing this t-shirt brought me back to a much simpler time and place when my only worries were if I would see the boy I liked or if I had to get into the cold lake that day.
Who wouldn’t want that?
I got so excited about this t-shirt that I actually starting thinking about a Facebook post where I could tag all of my camp friends and make them want to sing the theme song with me: “W that’s the way it begins” - a little nutty I know but I’m sure you get the point.
But, again the feeling is short lived because happiness is not an object, it’s a state of mind and is not dependent on possessions.
Advertising is geared towards making you want (and even worse) believing you need things to make your life complete.
We all get sucked in.
TV ads, Pop up ads, Facebook ads, are all telling us that we need this THING to be better, to look better, to feel better.
YOU ARE ENOUGH! Things don’t add quality to your life
Next time you feel badly and you want to cheer yourself up instead of shopping, decide to be kind to yourself, take it easy, and seek out activities to change your state of mind.
I’m going to DO more yoga with those new blocks and I will relax and soak in the tub more while enjoying the scented candles. And YES, I will dance around in my T-shirt singing the camp song.
What will you do for you?