I got an email from Zappos yesterday with the subject line "Sandals + Free Shipping = Joy", and for the first time ever, this type of marketing messaging gave me pause.
What really gives me joy? Sandals? I think if I'm honest with myself, I would have to say yes. Sometimes, new sandals (especially if bought on sale) do bring me some joy. That buzz of a great, cute, thrifty find does make me feel light and airy and jubilant from time to time. There is a reason why it is called Retail Therapy; for many people, scoring a good buy elicits a real feeling of happiness. At least for a while.
Read an interesting take on whether the happiness of purchasing something is the same as the happiness of possessing something on The Happiness Project blog. It's written by a non-shopper, so maybe it is less bias than my "Yay!!!! Pretty Dress! It's mine! All mine!!" attitude.
The G3 experiment is already starting to prompt me to question whether the little happinesses of buying stuff is really the kind of happiness/joy I want to cultivate in my life. I don't know if I'll ever be able to turn down a really good deal (um, Jackie and I scored some GREAT thrift store deals last weekend, both of mine were worn today, in fact, and I am very much enjoying them), but I think it is valuable to put more thought into what I choose to buy. Mindfulness is not an easy thing to grow, but you have to start somewhere.
So, maybe new sandals do bring about some flutters of JOY. I don't think there is anything inherently wrong with that, as long as your/my budget priorities are straight. But with a little more mindfulness, I'm hoping to draw my heart back to true Joy in my spirit, and true Joy in Jesus rather than in stuff. But, come to think of it, He wore sandals too! I wonder if he had to buy them, or if people just gave them to him? Hmm....
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