The
Spiritual Discipline of Shopping
An
important discovery I have made while traveling with my cousin is
that I don't write well when I am distracted. Having noise in the
background, such as one might find in a coffee shop, is one thing;
having someone talk to me while trying to follow a thought thread is
another. I made so many typos in yesterday's blog post that I,
myself, had difficulty reading it later in the day. For that, I
apologize to you. Henceforth, I will simply not write when being
talked to and spare you the irritation of bad writing.
I've
learned once again that shopping is not my idea of fun. I can
honestly say that I identify strongly with the men of the world,
whose wives drag them around shopping—I feel your pain, guys! And
for all the women who love to shop, you have my blessing so long as I
don't have to go with you. Shopping for me is a necessary evil to be
indulged in only as necessity demands. Surely, it is one of the seven
deadly sins!
I
can hear my son saying, “To each his own, Mom,” and he is
absolutely correct. This is not a judgment, but a statement—shopping
is not my idea of a great way to spend a vacation. On the other hand,
I love my cousin, so I do what pleases her for a few days every year.
It is a small sacrifice to pay to spend time with someone who shares
my blood, my bone and my history. She remembers what I do not, and
has a different perspective on almost everything. We can have long
conversations and not sound like Heckle and Jeckle. She forces me to
consider what I would normally reject out of hand, and I push the
envelope for her. We're the grain of sand in each others oyster
shell.
It
seems to me that there is too much like-mindedness going around
today. We tend to seek out only those who agree with us, avoid those
who disagree, and even dismiss them completely. It is a good thing,
I believe, to spend some time in the company of folks who challenge
our assumptions, and who force us to stretch our notions of “truth.”
It helps us (at least it helps me) to understand that there are many
ways to approach life, many ethical choices that one can make, and
everyone has their own definition of what is important. For these
valuable lessons, I am willing to shop 'til I drop!
In
the Spirit,
Jane
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