Stopping the Madness

I cancelled our newspaper subscription today. Not big news, I know… but I’m feeling proud of myself because I’ve been stalling on pulling the plug. I don’t actually read the paper. I just like perusing ads… especially around the holidays. It's all rooted in fond childhood memories of flipping through the Sears catalog and making Christmas wish lists.

That tradition has been passed along to my kids and each year they take turns flipping through the circulars as Christmas approaches… But why? Just for the fun of it? The tradition?! Because the reality is, I’d rather them not have a never-ending wish list… I want them to learn to be content... To understand the difference between needs and wants… to not be overly influenced by messages of materialism and consumerism.

We’ve been without cable TV for over a year now… We initially did it as a money saver and to cut down on how much TV we watched… the added bonus? No commercials! No longer do I hear sweet little voices repeating tag lines and spelling out website addresses for useless things like pillowpets. Yeah! I'm hoping the lack of store ads has a similar effect!

Side Note: If you're interested in taking little steps to stop the madness, too, check out this link for a great way to change perspective during advent: An Antidote for Holiday Consumerism 

I think about the new kids coming into our house and wonder about the observations they’ll have... “Look at all of these toys! Awesome!” or  “Woah - why so many?” “What in the world do they do with all of this?”  or “They have 18 balls! My friends at my old school were wishing for just one ball...”

More than likely they’ll be overwhelmed. I’m making a mental comparison to how I felt the first time we visited Chuck E Cheese. I believe I was twitching within 30 seconds. Total sensory overload.

And then my mind progresses from a surplus of toys to one of food. What in the world will they think the first time they go to an American grocery store??? From my “first world” perspective, I anticipate that they’ll feel relief at knowing so much food is now accessible to them. I can almost picture them wanting to grab as much as they can… But then I take off my filter and realize that their reaction could likely be very different. They may be confused by the choices, options, variations…  (The cereal aisle, alone, may put them into a panic.) They will be conflicted - why is all of this food here, when the people in my village can’t get enough?

This train of thought reminds me of an impressionable moment on my trip. While sharing dinner one night, we split a large bottle of water between about 10 people, pouring it into individual glasses. My daughter bumped her glass and the water spilled. It was a relatively small amount of water since we had allocated the bottle among so many… and I didn’t really react. Kids spill. It's just water. No big deal. 

The adults at the table immediately jumped up, trying to save some of the water. They chastised her. It was the only time I saw them speak harshly... over spilt water. It slowly sunk in why they were so upset with her - she had just lost a valuable commodity. The one thing not to be wasted… Water.

Later that night I was showing the kids photos of life here. Pictures of our family, house, schools, foods. The kept returning to one particular photo of Asher in our neighborhood splash park. After the water incident earlier in the evening, I was regretting including the photo in the book. There was water on the ground, water in the background, water all over his body. He was playing in an excess of the very thing they ration. They were a bit mesmerized, but mainly confused. I fielded MANY questions over that one picture.

Asher playing in our neighborhood splash park.

The contrast between little vs. much... lacking and excess (like wish lists from Sears catalogs!!)… Accessibility and unavailability… I am no closer to comprehending these disparities than I was months ago… How will these sweet little brains perceive and process it all??? I'm praying that with God's help, they come to know this to be true: "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." Philippians 4:12.

You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is beneficial. Don’t be concerned for your own good but for the good of others.  1 Corinthians 10:23-24 (NLT)