Day 22: Junk

During the last month I have had to be creative with my time while I've been here in Vancouver. In addition to all my excessive resting and relaxing I have made an effort to get out quite often on little errands. The lead up to Xmas has meant that I have had to do a little shopping for significant others. I have also spent a fair whack of time exploring Vancouver's many thrift stores. I have always enjoyed the process of looking for treasures in and amongst piles of junk.
..... And holy moly there is a mountain of junk out there! It is actually a very good past time to get involved in just before the gluttony of Xmas sets in. By spending time in the thrift stores, one really sees the sheer quantity of stuff that exists in our world and how it all lands up needing to go somewhere some day. On the one hand it appeals to my very thrifty "cheap" nature (as Skye would say,) and on another level it simply grosses me out. Seeing all the junk makes me feel sad for our planet. It is amazing to me how we are part of this economic system that depends so heavily on continuous growth so that people endlessly consume new things to keep the engines of production roaring. After awhile it is like the planet is drowning in stuff that quickly lands up on the trash pile in seemingly shorter and shorter cycles. It is like we are on a train that is driving faster and faster, eating up resources at an alarming rate for all this cheap junk that nobody really wants.
The cheapness and the ridiculously poor quality of the stuff being produced is actually the worst part of it. It just ensures that people replace things sooner than they might have done in the past guaranteeing the retailers more and more sales. The cost of it all is an increasingly trashed planet...
The worst part of it all is -- I am on the same train adding to the problem by participating in this charade we call Xmas. It is a terrible cycle! I feel like a bah-humbug if I abstain, and I feel gross when I participate . . . I can't seem to make sense of it all.