Today is the day most think of as "Black Friday" and a few think of as "Buy Nothing Day". I learned today that "Black Friday" is so named because it's the day the merchants go out of "red" and into "black", that is sell enough that they become profitable for the year. Supposedly it's the first major day of Christmas shopping. What it's turned into is a massive orgy of shopping with massive sales and massive crowds to take advantage of the sales.
Every year during Christmas season I get distressed over how the real purpose of the season is being ignored. The corporations have twisted our society around in knots so that we spend a lot of money to "celebrate" the season. Is that the purpose of this season? Did Jesus throw the money changers out of the temple, did he get murdered upon the cross, so that we would commit an orgy of spending 2000 years later? No. He did all that to bring us some spiritual teachings, and most are collectively ignoring those teachings because the season has been twisted out of proportion so that the real meaning has been lost.
In any case today I was wondering how to "celebrate" Buy Nothing Day. And it occurred to me, the best celebration of Buy Nothing Day would be giving stuff away.
Seems like the perfect antidote. Not grabbing... letting go. Rather than Buy, to Give Away. Yeah, perfect.
I put together a pile of stuff to take to Goodwill, and brought it over there.
(see: TechnoSanity #35: Buy Nothing Day, and What did you do for Buy Nothing Day?)
