For the last few years, I’ve slipped in and out of being disconnected with the mall culture and an elicit, guilty, and covert wish to find my way back to that elusive ideal seen in magazines, store windows, and worn so jauntily on that bald-headed, size four mannequin in Nordstrom’s Savvy department. (A quickie caveat: Don’t get me wrong here … while you wouldn’t know it to look at me, I love fashion. I love the art of clothing and style. That’s not what I’m talking about here.)
Somewhere between then and today, there was a nail in the coffin moment for me. The mall is dead to me. I saw its grave marker again on Saturday as Amira and I walked through the mall. I saw her studying one of the many designer clothing photo ads that we passed. My mind raced. What are these pictures telling her about life? What does it teach her about who she is and who she should be? It took me twenty-five to thirty long years to wake up. How do I teach her to be aware and awake within the culture we live in?
We are so lucky. There’s so much to be grateful for. Over lunch today, Paul and I talked about what extravagance it is to have a waitress walking around the room with a pitcher of cold, clean water. There are so many who do not have that. Here, we live and breathe in excess and we think that is normal. And, it is.
Okay, so what am I saying here? Let me pull my thoughts together.
The time for not being awake is over. The time for thinking and doing my part is now. I live in a country with more opportunity and resources that the rest of the world doesn’t have. I am gifted with the freedom to make choices. What a gift that is! There are so very many choices. On the cusp of largest shopping day of the year, Black Friday, being awake about how we shop seems a good place to start.
