December 23, 2010

Consuming the Christmas spirit

Have you not caught the Christmas bug, I meant, Christmas spirit yet? Ya, the one nicknamed Consumerism. That's the one.

It's about giving and sharing. Not quite. It's really more about buying and receiving, and then, of course, accumulating (so as to collect dust over the next one year). Maybe that's too skeptical, and it's just me-who-has-done-an-early-spring-cleaning who thinks this way. But, boy! Am I glad that my room is looking just a little tidier, less dusty and I've thrown out stuff that has way passed their expiry date for existing in my room. Some stuff went through an existential resurrection as I re-discovered them in some hidden boxes/envelopes. "Oh! Oh well. I have this?!" Very heartwarming.

Before I go on, kudos to my sweet boyfriend, Emman, for riding on this dusty journey with me! I promise I will try to keep all the knick-knacks properly (or at least, out of your sight) in the coming year.

Going back to the festive spirit again, if you don't know what I meant by 'Merry Consuming!', you have not been to Orchard Road or taking the NS MRT line in the past 2 weeks, even on the off-peak hours. The first question to be rightly asked is, "Aren't people supposed to be at work now?" and the answer is actually, "They are. But, it's the school holidays." Hmm? The three wise men would never have been able to reach Bethlehem, en route Orchard Road.

Pointing the finger back at myself, I have been part of the human jam at Orchard Road/City Hall a couple times too. Mostly, ending up with nothing though, except a pair of tired and jolly (I think) legs. I really try not to buy the unnecessary because after many rounds of spring cleaning every December/January, it has registered well in my mind that most of the stuff that I bought or received during festive seasons like now, ends up being either 1. dusty junk that I throw out within one breath or 2. useless collectible of dust that I also throw out but with a stab of guilt that I even bought it in the first place. It's kinda painful, the process... of looking at something, sending it to the rubbish bin, feeling glad that it's good riddance yet guilty that I wasted (or someone wasted) money on buying it without appreciating it. I used to look at the rubbish that I threw out, multiply the amount by an exponential and lament on how wasteful our race is -so we can really claim responsibilities for extreme environmental disasters in recent years, global warming and the not-so-impossible environmental armageddon. It is this sense of guilt that sometimes joins hands with the memory of a depleting bank balance and stops me from making purchases that are really my wants and not my needs. Not being wasteful certainly goes well with frugality.

But, like I mentioned, it's all about consumerism this and every Christmas season. So, as much as I try not to buy white elephants for myself, I try my best to buy practical items for others. And, I belong to the kind of gift-givers who have little qualms about giving others gifts, which I received as gifts from others, as long as it's appropriate and practical for my recipients. Sincerity and sentimentality, after all, should be kept in the heart and not preserved through objects. Also, the heart does not stay on and choke the earth decades after one has died, unlike packaging. Not a big deal, my efforts. But, it's just me trying to do some good, all in the spirit of the holy birth.

Posted by 杏 cy （Jancy） at 15:48