if not new, then what?

There certainly are mystifying forces around our natural inclination to plan to procure. Maybe it is better addressed as a lack of planning that sets off in us an unconscionable consuming. For clarification purposes, I do not see consumption in and of itself as a crooked criminal. Although I pay my homage to the world's great ascetics, I think I am too enamored with my enamoring of the mystics to actually be one at this point in my life. That said, I subsist on products purchased in stores, just like the majority of autonomous beings. I make impenetrable forts with books and hope one day an IKEA will be of a distance know for its mileage brevity, so to assist in the perennial goal of "organization" in my life. I like the idea of antique stores and vintage clothing, but have not ever been able to make such causality. And who doesn't like to fantasize in Sharper Image, as electronic birds fly overhead your limp body being massaged by that $1200 vibrating barcalounger?

So here we go - the new year is now in day two and I am still in the nascent stage of recollecting the days of 2007 while I dream of those yet to be born for 2008. These moments are ripe with optimism, as everyone breathes a sigh of second chances...or third...or 589th. I personally like to scour my backlog of emails, messages and letters and read how ridiculously worried I was about some insignificant detail that naturally resolved itself 8.45 seconds after it began. Not as enjoyable is the annual review of monies and where they all went. The US dollar of Sharlene funneled mainly into the usual categories of 1) communication [phone + interent] 2) daily bread and shelter [Eden Alley + Korma Sutra + anything ethnic, anything vegetable + trail mix + meatless meats], 3) Project Move Body [yoga + yoga + yoga + pages of anticipated yet never accomplished triathlons, half-marathons, and marathons], and 4) Project Save Me From Medical School [Netflix + half.com books + occlusal guard + iTunes + live music + coffee shop's goods] and, the ultimate shudder, 5) murder money in the form of petrol. Oh yeah and there was that trip to India, California, Maryland, Kentucky, Wisconsin, and Minnesota [x3] plus the pre-owned iPod, post-examination recovery efforts [like earrings] and the million of other things I thought I needed and was duped to buy. So it leaves my wallet faster than it is coming in because the reality is it ISN'T coming in. My mouth is feed by the hands of those who also hold M203s. I am supported exclusively on financial aid and have no real sense of connection to that money. Yet in ten years those historical funds will be the hand that prevents me from feeding myself and others. What I buy today will control my tomorrow. So I am looking to uprise in a revolution against myself this year.

So, if not new, then what?

The great truth of 2008 is I can reduce and avoid that tyranny all together. That is step one. Don't buy when you don't need, which demands an overhaul on the definition of "need". I believe a disconcerting breakdown of communication falls between the lines and the words we try to use to express a personal understanding yet they are ineffective, imperfect vehicles of that understanding. We don't know the proper vernacular of our insides so we are left exchanging poor grammatical statements that leaves both us and everyone else utterly confused. "Want" is translated as "need", as "starving" is synonymous for "boy, I could go for a cheeseburger right now" and the last time I checked more people were in love with The Hills than they were with their own neighbors. You know? Real people. Tweaking our understanding of what is necessary for each one of us to pass the hours of the day in such ways that both liberates us and others from greed, despair and poverty, is a good start.

I went into Target New Year's Eve, sort of like a "green mile" moment. With driven intent I marched stately into the women's apparel and began searching for something, anything that I wanted and felt justified in purchasing. It was, after all, Fat Tuesday before Obsolescence Management '08 began. To my chagrin, I couldn't get anything. At first I felt that old, familiar rustling in my consciousness - "that would be nice to have...look at those shoes that woman is wearing...ooh, sale!". I saw it there in me, lazily using it's weakest temptations because instead of acting on those impulses, I began looking at the tags of on the clothing. Not one thing in my review of racks was produced in the US. Of course, I had to laugh at the "Make Peace, Not War" trendy tees that were made in Guatemala. So with little prodding, I exited and pursed my lips, somewhat in a disappointed fashion, for I was not binging before the great purge and I feared I would resent this in the future.

After the reduce option, we are presented with buying used. I have been an avid fan of this avenue for quite some time, as undergrad textbooks [and, even more so, medical school tomes] have outrageous price tags when their are shiny and new. So sites like Half and Ebay are positive options. Let's not forget Craigslist, Freecycle and other community-based exchange environments. There is also something to be said about knocking on your neighbor's door and asking to borrow an item you need that they already have. Relationship building and consumption downsizing all in one - an excellent opportunity to the mountain of plastic bags waiting to wait thousands of years to disintegrate.

The road to Obsolescence Management has been walked on by many a feet and the feats accomplished have been great. For me, this forum isn't about revolution a priori but rather revolution a posteriori. I am joining another peaceful form of resistance.