For those of you who don't know, my birthday is coming up on July 13, and I had taken to thought of what I should ask for my birthday.
The truth of the matter is, I have a lot of stuff. Too much, probably. I'm very excited to be taking the 100 Things challenge, where you whittle your possessions down to just 100 items. So getting new things would be rather pointless. I have plenty of things to do: books to read, blogs to write, people to hang out with, RPG campaigns to participate in, school to study for, classes to attend, and an ever loving, doting wife whom I generally devote a vast majority of my time to.
Sure, there are things I want, like a solar panel battery recharger for my laptop, but really, in the end, I don't need it. I just want it.
So I have decided to fight back against the rampant consumerism that prods me into buying more and more stuff. Enough is enough! Who came up with this anyway?
I remember a long time ago in elementary school learning about Native American birthdays. Those native to the Pacific Northwest would throw a huge party - but would give away their stuff instead of receiving presents. This was a show of their wealth, but probably also a sign of gratitude to the community which fostered it. As a kid, I thought that was the most ridiculous thing in the world, but growing up, I'm inspired by such a noble tradition.
However, I have not much to give. As a struggling newly wed couple, we really can't afford to give away all of our stuff. But we do have time. So I've decided I'm going to volunteer my time on my birthday to show my gratitude to the communities which have provided so much for me.
Of course, other people may still want to get me something. That's fine, I suppose. But really, the best present you could give me is to do something on my birthday. Go out and bake a cake for someone, donate blood, volunteer at a soup kitchen, whatever. Just go out and do something for the community. Then write about it. Just write about it and send it to me. If I get some cool stories, I will post them on this blog, but I don't want anything. Seriously. I have too much stuff already and I can't even deal with the stuff I have now. So if you get something for me, some material possession, I will probably get upset. ;)
Just go out, and spend a couple hours doing something good for the community and then write about it and send it to me. That's all I ask for my birthday. I know not a lot of people read this blog, and even fewer would actually get me something for my birthday, but this year, if you were planning on it, or just think this idea is cool (because obviously I think so), go ahead and do it. We've got less than a month to find something to do and do it, but I figure I'd give people a heads up so that they can plan ahead and not get me an nonreturnable present and then curse my selfish attitude.
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3 comments:
The neat thing is with the 100 Item challenge, you can customize it however you want. Most people tend to not count things that are shared such as silverware and dishes and laundry detergent. As far as clothes, it depends. You could clump clothes into one category (like I will with "books") or you could go hardcore and really just have literally 100 items. It's up to what you're comfortable with.
that is ridiculous. why would you own only 100 things? it sounds like something that would pique your interest, ted, but it's impractical. what's the point?
oh ok so i googled it and i see the point, lol. well i am probably already under 100. but i'm not interested in the challenge. i'm too neurotic to try this "zen stuff". i mean it sounds cool for rich people to try, but it is sad to hear not rich people try it.
i used to think about asking people to like adopt a tree in the amazon rainforest or something for my bday or christmas but that's as far as i put that idea into action. i am afraid i am not very passionate about my community. i'll donate to a non-profit organization in your honor or something.
Dantzel and I are very minimalist at heart, and so we tend to do without things most people wouldn't dream doing without. Like a proper bed, for example. We sleep on a Japanese futon and we love it.
It also helps that our apartment is very small and we don't have much to begin with. The real point to the exercise (since most families could rarely go with only 100 things, even 100 things per family member) is to realize what is most important to you, and what you don't really need.
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