Election Day Liberation

So, I went to my favorite local super-club-shopping store today. Here’s what I got:

Milk
Egg Nog - I promised KC I'd get some as soon as I went back to the store
Cream
Butter
Eggs
Bagels
Bananas
Clementines
Limes
Lettuce
Spinach
Onions
Olives
Hot Chocolate Mix
Cat Food
Rotisserie Chicken

Here’s what I did not get:

• Any cool Costco convenience foods - the rotisserie chicken was priced the same as if I had bought it raw and cooked it myself, so here, I saved myself and my home a few hours of energy output
• Delectable ready-to-serve desserts that would have made a tempting addition to my Election Evening Festivities - I had my eye on the All-American chocolate cake, but I passed it up knowing anything I made at home would be a tenth of the cost and just as satisfying, well, almost just as satisfying
• Paper goods - I hate doing so many dishes, but love not spending dollars on stuff we just throw away without being nurtured by it
  

The liberation I felt while I was in the store did not come from being able to be there without wondering if someone was going to snap a photo of me cheating on my own experiment. It didn’t come from having an array of choices before me, many of which were open to the possibility of my purchase. It came from knowing that I was in control of what I walked out of the store with and that all I planned to procure was truly all I required. I felt free to stick to my list and not be enticed into buying things which do not add to the value of my family’s existence.

I want to share with you a story of something that happened while I was in Costco today. I ran into a friend and fellow shopper who was also carefully making her selections. She and I got to talking about our recent experiences. I told her about my month long experiment and some of our highs and lows culminating with this morning’s breakfast (read previous post.) She shared with me her family’s recent experience of struggling through rough economic waters. As I listened to her story I was impressed by her thrift, strength and ingenuity. I was humbled by the outcome of my silly experiment, I had felt so proud of myself for making it through to today. But, what stuck me in our conversation is that while my experiment gets to end, hers is ongoing. She doesn’t get to choose an end date. I know trials come and go, and for her, this too shall pass, but neither she does not get to determine when that is. Still, she was optimistic and hopeful. She spoke of how careful and conscious her consumerism has become. In the face of her need I was aware of every item in my cart, and glad I had not chosen too many less-needful things to fill the space.

This conversation speaks to the heart of what I’ve learned this month. We can thrive with much simpler fare and fodder than we think we can. Fewer choices can actually be quite liberating, as long as you still have the ability to choose. Self-reliance and others-reliance can be a beautiful balancing act. When it comes to sustenance and nourishment, it's not the ease of acquisition of a particular goal or item, but it's the thought, time, trial and error that are the best part of the process.