I have been on a mission to loose weight for just over a year now. I have managed to squeeze out 50 lbs worth and not gain any during my cycles of inactivity. Part of my rigorous training includes walking laps in a local mall when the climate is unfavorable to outdoor walking. I do this quite often because there is something about seeing those skinny size zero maniquins wearing clothes that I would literally die to fit into that just motivates me like nothing else. In fact, sometimes I spend so much time ogling the window displays, listening to music, and checking out my shrinking butt in the mirrors that I fail to notice the other non-plastic, living displays that walk (or graze) amongst me.
In the mall were I live it is a very diverse crowd. And I mean diverse. Babies to elderly, every color, every ethnicity, every sexual orientation, every socio-economic class, working and non-working, trouble makers and socialites....everything.
Today as I walked the halls of this mall, I really noticed people. I noticed how seriously some of them seemed, and how apathetic others seemed, happy, lost, confused, bitter, judgemental... the works. And it made myself think about what they see when they see others. Or for that matter how do the see themselves? How close is what the perceive to the truth?
To me the mall is a mill, turning out spenders at an alarming rate. There is an addiction to living beyond your means in this country, and an addiction to putting more value into items you purchase as opposed to those in which you can not (which are far more valuable in my opinion.) These people in the mall are all there trying to fill a hole. Some crave attention, some crave employment, some crave social interaction, some crave shopping, some crave food, some crave getting away from their homes, and some crave getting out of the cold. Or in my case I crave to be the tight little body that fits in those cute little clothes. Either way ya look at it our priorities are completely screwed.
I have to agree that the is and has been a fascination with living beyond our means. With the economy on the frits I have observed people upset because they have to sell their 3rd home, lay off the nanny and the housekeeper….buy hamburger instead of steak! Until recently, I have to admit that the concept of beyond the means kind of applied to me as well. Then, my son turned 18, moved out of the house and I started to reap the savings. The electric bill was reduced immensely, the cell phone bill dropped….the savings on groceries alone was intense! After seeing how much money I was saving I suddenly became a tight-ass! I started to cut spending wherever I could, trimmed the fat out of the budget….it has been great! Funny as we progress in life how we see things a little differently. Coincidentally, ‘people watching’ is a trip! I am with you and the thoughts you have on the subject. You’re a great writer! Keep it up.
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