Session Nine Worksheet:
Waiting for Marshmallows
Objective:
Unlearn consumeristic indoctrination that breeds waste.
Pivot toward gratitude.
Rethink It:
Move from Consumption to Gratitude
We are inundated with messages of consumption, even when in utero. Our parents leave their baby showers with a truckload of stuff to welcome us, and from cradle to grave we’re false-promised that a better, happier life will come with a lot of plastic that lasts seconds in the grand scheme of life. Our brains light up in the face of all this stimulation, and our deeper soul needs make us vulnerable to falling for retail therapy to fill our voids. It takes deliberate attention to hold onto our wallets and to tune into the true joys of life, those that are priceless and won’t ever waste our time and money.
Spending and Gratitude Check
Action Steps: Pinpoint Opportunities
for Gratitude and Generosity
It’s easy to get swept away when you live in a marketer’s heaven and a consumer’s hell. Consumerism leads to wasted time and money, distracting us from the true joys of life. Stuff can be like a collar around your neck, with companies pulling you by their mega-leashes. Consider unhooking yourself by engaging in the following activities:
1. Take a stuff walk. Spend five minutes in each room and closet in your house. Take note of your clothes and shoes. Are there any tags on clothes that you bought and have never worn? What percentage of your wardrobe do you wear? Do you have items that have lasted the test of time? Anything you’ve worn only once? Check out your personal products. Have they delivered their promises? Are the name brands you pay for worth the hype? Sometimes we don’t even realize how much stuff we have. Very often, taking inventory of what we have can serve as an appetite suppressant for shopping.
2. Do a mental fire drill. Pretend that where you live is on fire and you have ten minutes to evacuate your house. What essentials would you take with you? How much of what you would have to leave behind would be truly missed? What does what you would keep or abandon say about what you value most?
3. Review your budget. Look at your last few bank statements. What areas are you spending most on? Housing, transportation, and food tend to be biggies for everyone. Review your personal expenses, such as entertainment, going out to eat, and so on. How much are your weekly coffee, takeout, or entertainment bills? Are there ways to reduce spending in any of the areas? Are there any “unbeatable” discounts that are backfiring on you (buying three to get the fourth one free on a product you wouldn’t generally consume that much of)?
4. Reflect through music. Listen to the “Christmas-Can Can” song by Straight No Chaser. Does any of it seem familiar? Do holidays, birthdays, weddings, or other occasions that are supposed to bring joy have an opposite effect on your wallet and psyche? Is the stuff getting regifted anyway?
5. Move from ahhhh! to aha! The constant ahhhh! hustle of life that entices us to acquire stuff draws us away from the true treasures of life: relationships, health, opportunities for growth and impact. Take time to get away from the hustle to practice gratitude and connect, to find your aha moments of full appreciation and contentment.
6. Dial up your gratitude and giving. Instead of mindless screen sucking or purchasing, use your phone and social media as creative outlets to track gratitude and generosity. Take pictures of things you appreciate and post them with your reasons why. Most nonprofits and charities have easy text options to contribute, and automatic withdrawal systems. You can also use your phone to track the amount of time you spend volunteering, instead of screen sucking. Giving our time away is another amazing way to bring about the good life and to boost along our collective progress.
Our phones and wallets have become our Teddy Bears. We snuggle up to them, never leave home without them, and rely on them as sole comfort, when what we need is soul comfort.
They hold their place, all while our nearby hearts are pining for a new kind of absorption to take over—one that relishes in the eyes of a lover, squeals of children, glamorous sunsets, the smell of ocean.
The heart waits to be untethered, but the vices of consumeristic culture confuse us with a neurochemical rush that seems at first to resemble excitement and joy, but pales in comparison to a heart that is flooded with gratitude and presence.