i was on tv all weekend...over and over and over again....

**sabrelvssammy** · 11-30-2009, 06:06 PM

so dh and i like to watch news channels...(local/cable...you name it)....in spite of all the 'bad' news that we get pounded with...

of course this weekend was the focus of 'blk friday' and weekend holiday shopping...so we saw lots of snippets of different stores in different cities and their holiday shoppers...and they always started out the same way.....

pan to the storefront...scores of customers waiting patiently for the doors to open...doors open...people begin to file in...sometimes we could see the 'back' shot of the people entering...other times we were immediately sent to a front shot of the people entering the interior of the store....

for the most part people were smiling, talking, laughing and filing in in an orderly fashion and manner, but every once in awhile you would see that person (or persons) that just had to get ahead of everyone else...they were pushing/shoving, dodging/darting...anything to get that darn slow person in front of them out of the way...so they could get to what THEY came for....

those are the individuals that always caught my attention...and i would make a comment to dh "check out that guy in the blk sweater" or "watch these ladies here- can't they just wait one second?"....

after seeing these scenes about 1/2 doz times...something occured to me...'I' was those people....well..i mean...i 'used to be' those people....i used to be one that was so focused on getting to the prize, to the pot of gold...that i would push/shove/fight my way in any way that it took to get there....and i'm 'shamed' by it....shamed that i allow a bunch of 'junk' to get to that point....when is it SO important that you have to allow yourself to act in this manner...?

BUT...the good news is...i am no longer of this 'crowd' ....haven't been for probably 10 yrs...ok- i'll be honest with you and myself...maybe 5 yrs.... but each year i have gotten better and better to the point that 'material objects' have no real value to me...if i have them-great...if i get a great deal on one-even better....but i will no longer wait in long lines for one, stand in the freezing cold to save $20, lose sleep or otherwise change my pattern of living if it is going to require dis-comfort just for a sale....and i certainly will not 'push' another human being just to have the last tv on the shelf.....that is just no-longer my style....

**sinopa27** · 11-30-2009, 06:23 PM

Sometimes looking at what you "used to be" can be difficult. I can relate to you about seeing what your past was and I know you are proud that you are no longer like that. I just hope that there are more people who are coming to the understanding that we should not be products of this commercialism that has become the norm. That crazy race to get the price isn't all that cheap.

**jas** · 11-30-2009, 07:19 PM

hurray for you and your changed attitude! Yes, it is nice to have things, but it is not the be all end all that the media would have us all believe. To watch all the ads on tv you would think that all is going well with the economy. There are a lot of people that have bigger worries than getting the latest must have item.