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I postpone death by living, by suffering by error, by risking, by giving, by losing. Anaïs Nin © Denise Blasor |
BUY EVERYTHING DAYS
It's 35 days till Christmas
and the insanity is well
underway.
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| Vintage Thansgiving Greeting from thegraphicsfairy.com |
The insanity being the orgy
of buying that retailers in
general seek to ignite at this
time of year through a tsunami of ads
unleashed media wide: print,
tv, radio, the internet.
Every year the barrage of
ads seems to kick off earlier
and earlier, and the siren
call has but a single theme:
buy, Buy, BUY!
It's as if people had not
bought anything over the
previous 11 months,
and they needed to be
persuaded to experience
this great, incredible,
fantastic, unique,
marvelous opportunity to fill up their homes with all manner of merchandise, because this is after all Christmas and Christmas
is all about buying, isn't it?
The annual buying frenzy used to officially begin on the Friday
following Thanksgiving but this year retailers have decided
to jumpstart things a bit earlier by opening for business on
Thanksgiving itself.
Is nothing to be held sacred anymore? Must commerce trump
the very few remaining occasions to reunite with families and
friends in celebration of the communal bonds that help to hold
our stressful and fractured lives together?
These all too brief occasions are the few times in the year when
we can take a meaningful pause in our frenetic, hectic lives
and momentarily forget the rampant consumerism that seems to
define our lives.
These are times to treasure and enjoy the presence of family
members: talk to them, share stories, listen, partake, but also
notice our surroundings, take pleasure in the traditional
foods that complement the season, perhaps even shut down
Facebook and Twitter and unnecessary distractions that keep
us from concentrating on the people around us, the people we
love.
In the end, do we really need to go to a mall on Thanksgiving
Day to buy Christmas presents?
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Photography by Denise Blasor "The deepest feeling always shows itself in silence." Marianne Moore |
BUY NOTHING DAY at La Chiwinha
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| © La Chiwinha |
Black Friday, consider participating in the counterrevolution:
Buy Nothing Day.
This international protest against unfettered consumerism kicked
off in Canada in 1992 and has spread to more than 65 countries.
The idea behind it, according to its supporters, is "not to change
habits for one day but to make a lasting lifestyle commitment to
consume less and produce less waste."
In response to this call for responsible consumerism, La Chiwinha
invites consumers to participate in a barter event to be held at the
store on Nov. 29. The activity begins at 2 p.m. and runs through
5 p.m.
"Bring food, toys, wisdom, clothing, accessories, services and
art to barter or exchange freely with other participants," reads
the store's invitation. Other objects that you might consider
bringing are books, tools, jewelry, and homemade goods.
La Chiwinha is a popular store that sells a wide range of
goods at fair trade prices, including organic foodstuffs,
accessories, beauty and home products. It also runs a small
café that serves delicious lunches and desserts made by some
of San Juan's top chefs.
In keeping with the spirit of the day, the store will not be
selling anything on Nov. 29; instead, it will barter 6 oz and
12 oz mugs for new and different mugs that you might
bring along.
Consumers who plan to attend should keep some of these
rules in mind: bring things that you no longer use but that are
still in good condition; no money will be exchanged; you can
barter as many items as you want.
Last but not least the owners of the store offered this advice:
"Take this opportunity to meet new people and of course….
have a good time."
LA CHIWINHA
1054 Calle González, Rio Piedras
787.925.0707
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| Photography by Denise Blasor If you ask me what I came to do in this world, I, an artist, will answer you: I am here to live out loud. Emile Zola |
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