...it's about all the stuff

Just watched "No Impact Man". For those of you unfamiliar with this title, it is a documentary about a man and his family attempting to live for a year with little to no negative environmental impact. They cannot consume anything that is not for survivals sake. It even goes so far as no electricity and no toilet paper. The biggest idea that I took from this film is that everyone can consume less. It really made me think about all of the "stuff" that surrounds us. I have been stuck on this thought a lot lately. I just don't want to feel that I "need" so much. It's very hard to gain distance from this concept. Needing, wanting, buying, collecting, it's become a part of life. Even when it isn't our birthdays or a holiday; we reward ourselves. "It's Tuesday, I deserve a new skirt". I want to feel the satisfaction of the simpler pleasures in life without feeling like I am missing out. As a society, we don't do well with the idea of depriving ourselves. It is seen as completely negative to go without. This needs to change. We need to begin to idolize people like the man and his family in this film. They, not only survived on much less, they thrived. I don't want to fill in the details because I would like people to see it for themselves. It was/is an inspiration to me. I am hoping to document my spending and consuming and try harder to make better choices in general about the "stuff" I bring home.