Not the target audience

I read about books and put them on hold at the library to take a look at them. Sometimes a book takes a while to arrive, at which point I have probably forgotten about the book entirely. Sometimes it's a nice surprise and sometimes I wonder at what I was thinking when I put it on hold. Then there are the books I'm looking forward to and they end up being a bust. Such is the story this evening. 

I'd been waiting for No New Things: A Radically Simple 30-Day Guide to Saving Money, the Planet, and Your Sanity by Ashlee Piper. I'm always up for ways to save money, and if I can save my sanity and the planet... well what's not to like? 

I didn't even make it through the introduction. Do you want to know what the easy 30-day plan is? Don't buy anything new for thirty days. After I realized this I did read a little further just to be sure I was understanding, but that's it. I figured since this is pretty much my entire life style that this book was really not aimed at me. 

It got me to thinking. When was the last time I bought something at retail. Well, last week I bought some new weaving yarn, but half of what I bought was from the sale shelf and had probably been donated to the arts center. We also, over the past three months, bought a new alternator, new front brakes, two new tires, and a new well pump. J. actually tried to get refurbished models for each but was told that probably wasn't a good idea. But the last time I bought something new was probably some socks and underwear for various children earlier in the spring. I realized I just don't do very much shopping and the shopping I do is pretty much second hand in one form or another. My children actually prefer to shop for clothes at thrift stores because they like the treasure hunt aspect and because I'm more likely to say yes. 

The teeny tiny bit of the book I did read made me realize that I live in a bubble and could be a little out of touch with the majority of society. I think what made my eyebrows go up the most was the author's insistance that while this might feel really, really hard, with her suggestions it could be done. It made me wonder if people are aware at how very steeped in consumer culture they are. What you pay attention to is what you're going to appreciate. If you're reading glossy magazines, browsing the aisles of stores every day, watching influencers (aka shills for whatever, I dare you to persuade me otherwise), then that is what you're going to find yourself thinking about and consequently feel as though you need. I did stints in upmarket department stores. I realized the more I was exposed to certain clothes, the more I felt I needed them even if I didn't like them when they first arrived. 

Try paying attention to other things... Go outdoors and pay attention to nature, go to an art exhibit and pay attention to beauty, learn a craft, head to the library and check out whatever books look interesting. There's a whole world out there on which to place your attention. And none of it requires buying a thing. (Okay, well maybe the craft thing, but I get a huge amount of my craft related supplies in ways other than retail.) 

Stuff, whether new or used, will never fill the emotional needs a person may experience. Connection with other people and thankfulness for what you already have will, though.