Every time I need to buy something, whether it be a ‘small’ investment purchase such as a pair of jeans/a pair of socks, even, or, a ‘large’ investment purchase such as a new phone, for example, I take my time researching all the options, before, finally, committing to ‘buy it now.’
Although this takes time, it means that, every single purchase, when it arrives, is treasured.
It also, naturally, means that I have very few possessions…
Clothes, ornaments, jewellery, books- I own very little of anything. The possessions that I do own, however, because of how much time I’ve spent choosing them, are all really valuable to me (not necessarily valuable in monetary terms, but, rather, valuable in terms of how important they are to me/of how they make me feel).
It is precisely because of how much value I hold in my possessions, as described above, which means that, whenever I buy something new, if it doesn’t bring me as much ‘joy’ as I would like it to, then I will return it/resell it, and order an alternative– something which does bring me joy…
Why do I spend my time doing this? For two reasons… Firstly, because I tend to hold a Buddhist perspective on “things”: I believe that everything has energy, material possessions not excluded, and that, the energy within our possessions can be both good and bad. We should, therefore, only choose, buy, and keep those things which make us feel good, since, these things will release good energy into our lives (something which we all need more of, right?!)
&, the second reason? Simply because, life’s too short to not keep only the things which we really love/ life’s too short to surround ourselves with anything other than the things which make us feel “at our best.”
Life’s too short and too hard…
Being able to seek joy out of the smallest of things though, like a new pair of socks adorned with some ‘weird and wonderful’ print, or, in the case of one of my most recent purchases, a teeny tiny bronze pug statue, can help to ‘lessen the load’ a little bit, a very welcome thing in a very ‘heavy’ world…
(Now, I feel I should note here that, I am very lucky, I know, in the sense that I can afford to do this. I know that many people wouldn’t/don’t have the luxury of being able to only buy the things which they really love/I know that, for some people, ‘just getting by’ is hard enough…
Having said the above, I want to emphasise here though that, if you can be very selective about what you own/if you do have the ability to do that, then you should absolutely make it your mission to curate your possessions- curate them in such a way that they match up to who you are/who you want to be (i.e., so that they match up to your identity). For me, that means buying bold patterned jeans instead of regular, ‘block colour’ jeans (tie-dye instead of black), and, it means wearing t-shirts with my favourite bands printed across the front. Basically, it just means wearing whatever helps me feel most like me (from a clothing perspective)…
But, what about if something that I really want to wear doesn’t exist? The solution? To make it myself– to design my own clothes, to order custom jewellery, to ensure that everything I own- clothing and otherwise- is all a reflection of me– Lisa– with the way that I look on the outside, reflecting who I am on the inside…
‘Between what a man calls me and what he simply calls mine, the line is difficult to draw.’
The next time you need to buy something then? Please, consider ‘shopping around’, so that you can buy the “uniquest” of things to match your own “uniqueness.”
How can you do this? How can you “shop around?” There are so… many… ways.
Just head over to Etsy, Vinted, Depop, Instagram Shops, Charity Shops, Carboots, all the lesser frequented shops (i.e., NOT PRIMARK!!), and take the time to really look, and, I can assure you, you’ll be so (pleasantly) surprised when you realise all of the amazing things out there. The unique, quirky, ‘one-of-a-kind’/’one-off’ pieces. The rainbows, the bright colours, the bold patterns, the cool designs- there is so much to discover out there/there is so much value that you can add to your life, just by shopping around.
To conclude then/the moral of this post?
Be mindful of what you bring into your life/of whether your possessions bring you joy/whether they add value to your life. Be mindful so that you can, cue a cheesy quote to end:
‘Live the life you’ve always imagined.’
(or, to steal Florence Given’s mantra, Author of Women Don’t Owe You Pretty and all round ICON:
do it so that you can live a “delicious” life-
& have fun with it)!!
<3
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