Consumerisms, collecting.

I was listening to NPR today. On one of the programs they interviewed a UPS employee who said his mall deliveries to a bunch of stores which included Banana Republic, (although he called it "banana") were down from 1500-2000 packages to only 900-1000 in this years deliveries, if I heard this correctly. Anyway, the point being his numbers are way down.

I think I have a blatant lesson to learn here and it is in order to learn a valuable lesson; I had better evolve and think of new ways to sustain myself. The stores have been selling high-priced junk at a premium for years and I bought it. Now what? Granted some of my best clothes have come from friends or thrift stores, but occasionally I buy the shirt or pants not on sale and experience buyers remorse for about two seconds. Shame on me. Gasoline companies do the same and then we're surprised or even elated when the prices come down to almost half of what they had been in Spring and Summer 2008 which is good, BUT how quickly we forget how they jabbed us in the gut. My memory is getting better and better. Good. That's what evolution is all about.

I decided that instead of buying high-priced gas to buy less; consume less. In fact a lot of other people thought the same way. Yay! We did it! It wasn't to show the oil companies we have brains. We did it out of necessity and isn't that better? We consumers tend to shine when forced into a corner. And we can continue to take the same approach. I take pride in that. It's never too late, is it?

Maybe it's time we took a good long look at what we really need, not want, but need. I feel a high sense of gratification when I give away my stuff, either new or used. I have too many clothes. I collect too many things. Hell, I even collect too many friends on Facebook. Why? What's that about? Oh yeah.....I collect compulsively. (It used to be comic books.) Still, what can a person do with 200 virtual friends? Maybe it's too early to tell. People are one thing. Virtual people are entirely another.

Looking back, I have added a few so-called "friends" to my ever-growing list rather compulsively. Don't get me wrong. There are many friends I LOVE to keep up with, even if we don't chat everyday. Then there are the ones I see in person and have actual face-time with, which is a bit better. Then there's this another category of people who don't really give a s**t but want me for the same thing I added them for. Granted there are those I won't call either and so, again, what's the point? Should I drop them or block them? I think I should call them. I will.

For 2009, I'm doing some house cleaning. I don't need to keep adding virtual "friends." I want friends who want to spend actual Facetime with me; friends whom I find enjoyable to be around and vice-versa; let's enhance each other's lives; let's inspire ourselves to grow, learn and evolve through love; this lovely thing called personal contact. Does that sound lofty? What about old fashioned? Love is a great and sometimes powerful word, but who was it who said "Words are cheap?"

For 2009, I'm going to reduce my Facebook time and spend a little more actual face-to-face time with the people I truly cherish. And instead of wasting time purchasing things I don't need, eating too much food at restaurants, and going places I don't really care about, I think I'll paint more, read more, blog more and create a more authentic lifestyle with people.

I think I'll collect some quality, for a change.