Thursday madness
Happiness is...
- money to spend
- spending money
- looking forward to having nothing to do tomorrow
I've been reading up on EF Schumacher and his book 'Small is Beautiful'. Basically he said that rampant consumerism turns the traditional 7 deadly sins into virtues, destroying individuals and society in the process. He said it over 30 years ago. And now we're reaping the results he predicted.
So, why my pleasure in my purchases? Well, because some of them were for the garden - and more plants is good for the planet; some of them were from Lush - and they make fresh handmade cosmetics for real and not just for marketing purposes; and some of them were the things you need to buy like bin bags. Rampant consumerism? I think not.
Not that I don't desire things I don't need. Like a DSLite. I really, really want a DSLite. But I have no money - so, no dinky hand-held video game console for me.
And then there's Pet Society on Facebook. That is all about buying stuff. You visit your friends' pets - and get paid for it! Then you go and spend the money on a shirt or a jacuzzi. And you get trophies for buying stuff. The one redeeming feature of this game is that there's no credit. If you want something, you have to save up for it. Oh, but, you can 'buy' in-game money with a credit card... which I haven't done, btw. But I just can't get enough of this game! I love dressing my pet (Violet - she's a violet-coloured kitty) every day and seeing how much she's won in the daily lottery. Then I visit my friends' pets - I hug my kids' pets and dance with the rest. And I wash the grubby ones - again for more cash. Then I browse the shops planning my next purchase for Violet's kitchen or bedroom. It's more than a little tragic.
Having said that, though, it's a fairly harmless version of consumerism - for me, at least. I'm still at the point of supplying Violet's needs - poor thing hasn't even got a cooker, yet! - rather than unbridled desires. Some of the things you can buy are just silly.
Overall, though, I'm content - I want what I've got rather than trying to get what I want.
Well, I'm off to watch 'Alien3', now. Toodles, LJ.
- money to spend
- spending money
- looking forward to having nothing to do tomorrow
I've been reading up on EF Schumacher and his book 'Small is Beautiful'. Basically he said that rampant consumerism turns the traditional 7 deadly sins into virtues, destroying individuals and society in the process. He said it over 30 years ago. And now we're reaping the results he predicted.
So, why my pleasure in my purchases? Well, because some of them were for the garden - and more plants is good for the planet; some of them were from Lush - and they make fresh handmade cosmetics for real and not just for marketing purposes; and some of them were the things you need to buy like bin bags. Rampant consumerism? I think not.
Not that I don't desire things I don't need. Like a DSLite. I really, really want a DSLite. But I have no money - so, no dinky hand-held video game console for me.
And then there's Pet Society on Facebook. That is all about buying stuff. You visit your friends' pets - and get paid for it! Then you go and spend the money on a shirt or a jacuzzi. And you get trophies for buying stuff. The one redeeming feature of this game is that there's no credit. If you want something, you have to save up for it. Oh, but, you can 'buy' in-game money with a credit card... which I haven't done, btw. But I just can't get enough of this game! I love dressing my pet (Violet - she's a violet-coloured kitty) every day and seeing how much she's won in the daily lottery. Then I visit my friends' pets - I hug my kids' pets and dance with the rest. And I wash the grubby ones - again for more cash. Then I browse the shops planning my next purchase for Violet's kitchen or bedroom. It's more than a little tragic.
Having said that, though, it's a fairly harmless version of consumerism - for me, at least. I'm still at the point of supplying Violet's needs - poor thing hasn't even got a cooker, yet! - rather than unbridled desires. Some of the things you can buy are just silly.
Overall, though, I'm content - I want what I've got rather than trying to get what I want.
Well, I'm off to watch 'Alien3', now. Toodles, LJ.