“The more I think it over, the more I feel that there is nothing more truly artistic than to love people.” – Vincent Van Gogh
Go ye, therefore, into all the world and create.
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Black Friday 2009: Paying Homage to Consumption?
It’s coming. The day marked for the celebration of the birth of Jesus is nearing. Comments are frequently made about the origination of the holiday being pagan. I would argue that which was pagan and made religious has largely become pagan again. The “celebration” that we now call Christmas has become the commercial exploitation of God coming into the brokenness of humanity.
It’s coming. Black Friday. The day after Thanksgiving, millions of people will sacrifice a full night of sleep and either stay up all night or awake very early to drive their vehicles to shopping malls and retail stores across the country. Long lines, crammed traffic grids, and hateful behaviors are no deterents from the “cost savings” for the mass purchasing of items that may or may not be needed. We’ll discuss the idea of a “need” soon (for those of you coming to the Narrative Gathering on Monday nights be thinking about what a need is). Black Friday is an interesting social phenomenon. Why do consumers think they are “saving” money? Do consumers consider what money actually is? Are the majority of purchases on Black Friday for items that would be purchased even if “sales” didn’t exist? Is the purchasing of items encouraging unfair trade or even slavery in other countries? Pick a question or add a question and we’ll kick it around. Of course, my hope is that we all begin to consider the fullness of what it means to consume, buy, worship, purchase, and enslave while imagining what alternative behavior may be more life sustaining as we celebrate the coming of God into human reality.
Black Friday: 2008.1 Edition
I have at least four posts in my head about the previously posted idea of life. Though a post on Black Friday may not initially sound as though it pertains to the question "what is life?," it does, indeed, address the issue on life on a number of levels. Here is an excerpt from one of my posts last year:
"The day marked for the celebration of the birth of Jesus is nearing. Comments are frequently made about the origination of the holiday being pagan. I would argue that which was pagan and made religious has largely become pagan again. The “celebration” that we now call Christmas has become the commercial exploitation of God coming into the brokenness of humanity. I will continue to add some posts on the repulsivity of consumerism."
Another post read as follows:
"Jesus wept. It is a sentence often quoted as the shortest verse in the Bible. On Friday, it was a reality. Not just because of Black Friday monetary spending but because of the addiction to consumption and lust for material possession and/or entertainment.
Jesus wept."
This coming Friday, millions of people will sacrifice a full night of sleep and either stay up all night or awake very early to drive their vehicles to shopping malls and retail stores across the country. Long lines, crammed traffic grids, and hateful behaviors are no deterents from the "cost savings" for the mass purchasing of items that may or may not be needed. We’ll discuss the idea of a "need" soon (for those of you coming to the Narrative Gathering on Monday nights be thinking about what a need is). Black Friday is an interesting social phenomenon. Why do consumers think they are "saving" money? Do consumers consider what money actually is? Are the majority of purchases on Black Friday for items that would be purchased even if "sales" didn’t exist? Is the purchasing of items encouraging unfair trade or even slavery in other countries? Pick a question or add a question and we’ll kick it around. Of course, my hope is that we all begin to consider the fullness of what it means to consume, buy, worship, purchase, and enslave while imagining what alternative behavior may be more life sustaining.
100 Things.
Some time ago I posted a series of questions and thoughts about simplicity and minimalism. Check out the article How to Live with Just 100 Things and then comment with your thoughts.
Do you think you could do the 100 Thing Challenge?
Minimal 1.5
It is fair to conclude that the state of one’s heart/soul/mind/being is core to the issue of simplicity and minimalism. Assuming one’s motivations and intentions are pure and good then should he/she seek a simple life in terms of minimizing his/her possessions? Do pure and good motivations and intentions necessitate such minimalism?
Minimal 1.0.6
I have appreciated the conversation on minimalism. I resonate deeply with some thoughts and am in terrible disagreement with others. Shall we venture to unpack and deconstruct the language and question in a more SIMpLE way (the “p” is purposefully typed in lowercase to complicate the word and as an image of the complexity that is created when individual differentiation is sought)?
What is simplicity?
Is simplicity right or wrong?
Did Jesus live a simple life?
Is it right or wrong to purge possessions simply to simplify (organizationally or aesthetically)?
Do individual possessions aid in the continued trend/formation of an anti-communal culture?
Is it right or wrong to give SIMpLY for the sake of giving?
Minimal.
