Shopping Galore
Now that Christmas is finally over, I could heave a sigh of releif. The past few days felt like the shopping would never end. Just when you think you covered every last person on the list, you still hit the mall for the last minute stocking stuffers. The state of the people you find in the mall makes you wonder whatever happened to that Christmas spirit that we hear of. The whole Christmas thing has been changed to a mere Shopping extravaganza. People scramble for days buying gifts. It all begins right after Thanksgiving, when the year's supposedly biggest shopping event Black Friday happens, the list begins to get checked. Its hard to resist the unbelievable deals that get laid out for grabs. From Toys, Clothes, Electronics, Kitchenware, Home Improvement the list is just endless. Everything that you had in your mind for yourself or your loved one, this might be the best time of the year to get them. There is something in the time, maybe being the end of the year that just incites the shoppers quest for the best deals in town. Even the unsavvy shopper would like to hit the stores to get the gift they desire.
For someone who is new to this tradition and who is perplexed as to whether the gift is the right one, this season can be extremely overwhelming. Surely the feeling of opening the gifts is magical, but the expereince of shopping for gifts isnt enjoyable. Its a bunch of decisions to make. Right from the persons to add in the list, the budget you decide, their choices or tastes which we hope they like, then finally finding it on the store fitting all the rules you fixed. Online shopping has come like a boon, but it comes with its pains. Endless browsing of the deals, make up a lot of screen time. When Costco decided to sell Airpods, for $30 less, their site almost crashed with people trying to get it before its gone. Ofcourse it was sold out by noon black friday. Such is the frenzy that goes on even in the virtual world. The unpredictabe shipping delays can be annoying too. Not to mention unexpected surprises in the received product not meeting your expectations. One wonders if the time saved by not actually going to the store is worth the effort. Still it is anyday better than waiting to check out during the actual Black Friday Event in a store.
Finding a place to park in the mall during Christmas season is like winning a lottery. Much more depressing is seeing the people waiting to return stuff, brought online in a frenzy during the black friday sale. It is sad to see people abusing the liberal return policies of these big retailers. One or two items to return is understandable, but people hauling stuff to return in thrash bags is outrageous. Seeing all this i wonder if in this world do things matter more than the people? Have we made it all about things? Sure we need nice things to live well, but the cost of attianing it do we forget what is more important in this season? Is this the mythical "Maya" aka illusion of the new world. The endless thirst of materialistic items is sure costing us this planet. I do not want to touch on the environmental footprint we are adding. But i am talking about the emotional footprint this materialistic thirst is having on the people.
The idea of giving is such nice gesture until we make it about things. It doesn't matter what is inside the box, but the thought that counts. Unless we get that right in our minds, we never could understand the true Christmas spirit. Make it more of a time to spend with your loved ones and give them the gift of your time and attention. Make it a time to reflect on the many blessings that we do have and not on the amount on the price tag. There is nothing wrong in desiring or owning nice things, if you could afford it then why not, but try not to make that as the defining point of your happiness. The thing with things is that, once you achieve something, you yearn for something else. You are never ever going to be fully satusfied when you put your happiness on material things. They are just temporary joys, which we quickly forget and wish for a new one. So if you think you didnt get the best gift inside that box, remember how fortunate you are to get atleast that. Be thankful in whatever you get and be happy in whatever you give.
For someone who is new to this tradition and who is perplexed as to whether the gift is the right one, this season can be extremely overwhelming. Surely the feeling of opening the gifts is magical, but the expereince of shopping for gifts isnt enjoyable. Its a bunch of decisions to make. Right from the persons to add in the list, the budget you decide, their choices or tastes which we hope they like, then finally finding it on the store fitting all the rules you fixed. Online shopping has come like a boon, but it comes with its pains. Endless browsing of the deals, make up a lot of screen time. When Costco decided to sell Airpods, for $30 less, their site almost crashed with people trying to get it before its gone. Ofcourse it was sold out by noon black friday. Such is the frenzy that goes on even in the virtual world. The unpredictabe shipping delays can be annoying too. Not to mention unexpected surprises in the received product not meeting your expectations. One wonders if the time saved by not actually going to the store is worth the effort. Still it is anyday better than waiting to check out during the actual Black Friday Event in a store.
Finding a place to park in the mall during Christmas season is like winning a lottery. Much more depressing is seeing the people waiting to return stuff, brought online in a frenzy during the black friday sale. It is sad to see people abusing the liberal return policies of these big retailers. One or two items to return is understandable, but people hauling stuff to return in thrash bags is outrageous. Seeing all this i wonder if in this world do things matter more than the people? Have we made it all about things? Sure we need nice things to live well, but the cost of attianing it do we forget what is more important in this season? Is this the mythical "Maya" aka illusion of the new world. The endless thirst of materialistic items is sure costing us this planet. I do not want to touch on the environmental footprint we are adding. But i am talking about the emotional footprint this materialistic thirst is having on the people.
The idea of giving is such nice gesture until we make it about things. It doesn't matter what is inside the box, but the thought that counts. Unless we get that right in our minds, we never could understand the true Christmas spirit. Make it more of a time to spend with your loved ones and give them the gift of your time and attention. Make it a time to reflect on the many blessings that we do have and not on the amount on the price tag. There is nothing wrong in desiring or owning nice things, if you could afford it then why not, but try not to make that as the defining point of your happiness. The thing with things is that, once you achieve something, you yearn for something else. You are never ever going to be fully satusfied when you put your happiness on material things. They are just temporary joys, which we quickly forget and wish for a new one. So if you think you didnt get the best gift inside that box, remember how fortunate you are to get atleast that. Be thankful in whatever you get and be happy in whatever you give.
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