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Reviews |
December 14,
2005 | vol. XXXIX | No. 3 |
Holidays bring unexpected
feeling of satisfaction
by Marcy Cwikla, business director
Around this time of year, it has become a
custom for me to begin compiling my
Christmas list, usually figuratively,
although sometimes physically.
A few raves about my demands, an
alphabetized list of items with
corresponding purchase locations and
listed prices, and my parents have never
had any trouble making each Christmas as
enjoyable and memorable as the previous
one. However, I’m making it slightly
more difficult for them this year.
I don’t want anything.
While this is a complicated notion for
even me to comprehend, it is a
satisfying one. Despite the fact that my
habits have been known to bring a cringe
upon my father’s face, and I have often
been accused of misinterpreting the
concept of money, I can not sit and name
one material possession whose presence
would warrant the creation of a
Christmas list.
Over the course of 18 years with my
family, I have been showered with gifts
that have met every one of my
expectations and satisfied whatever
temporary desire I harvest at that
particular moment, regardless of the
extravagance or absurdity (I asked for a
Chia pet for my last birthday). The
belongings I have managed to accumulate
during the course of my existence not
only hold their material worth, but the
sentimental worth that accompanies the
act of receiving them. I am appreciative
and welcoming, and hopefully, have never
taken these possessions for granted,
but, unfortunately, that is something I
can never guarantee.
Throughout my life, I have never
considered my gifts a bad thing,
especially considering the fact that
they have led me to this conclusion: I’m
done. I’m done with the needy attitude
and draining temperament, I have
everything I want, and it’s nice to know
that there is a limit, a tangible and
satisfying limit.
While new “stuff” will come to spark my
interest, and my level of satisfaction
may fluctuate with their attraction, I
know the limit and I’ve reached it.
This isn’t to say that I renounce all my
personal possessions and will never
want/buy another material good as long
as I live, but I have finished with the
“gimme, gimme, gimme” lifestyle I
operated under during my youth and an
embarrassingly long time afterwards.
What I have is enough, and anything I
add at this point will be because I like
it, not the idea of having it. |
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