I was reflecting a bit tonight on holidays and festive occasions in general.
I've always been a partier, I admit it.
Nowadays now, whatever occasion we talk about, consumerism is the master.
This, I think, is currently the norm that you need to get used to since it is the direction the world is taking.
Warning, getting used to it doesn't mean conforming though.
For example, if one is against certain forms of unbridled consumerism, it is enough simply to be moderate, perhaps not to celebrate or to do it in a lesser tone, whatever the occasion to "sanctify".
This does not mean that society has taken a certain path and, unfortunately or fortunately, since we live in this society we have to get used to reality and accept it and I repeat, it does not necessarily mean adopting it.
You can easily accept without conforming, the alternative instead, if you don't even want to give in to acceptance, is to move into a cave and become a hermit.
Yes, I know, sometimes I'm drastic.
Don't misunderstand my words, I just wanted to be a little sarcastic; there are those who make life choices focused on degrowth and minimalism, I myself try to embrace these philosophies as much as possible and, I admire, those who manage to detach themselves completely from certain things and situations that exist in our reality.
Having said that, there are times when, probably, I too could be defined as a consumerist; I confess that it doesn't bother me and I live it calmly, also because as I always preach, balance is needed, extremism and fundamentalism in my opinion are one of the evils of the world, if they are mass.
We now come to the end of the word "accept"; let's start from the assumption that personally, in general I don't criticize and I don't judge, there is and will always be something or someone who is different from me and this is a good thing, I have always seen diversity as an asset and I have always embraced it; however, let's assume for a moment that what is different from me is actually now a social custom, maybe something adopted by everyone (see consumerism at parties for example) and that I don't like it.
Well, in this case, in my view, I will behave differently and I will follow my line of thought but I will not stand there criticizing what others do or demonize it, also because everything in the world is subjective and none of us is bearer of the absolute truth indeed, if one were to reason in absolute terms and in large numbers, if I do the opposite of what the world does, the truth will probably be more on the side of the world.
Assuming of course that I don't give a damn about what the world thinks if I've decided to take a path.
That said, it is essential to remember that, especially for those who have adopted Western life criteria, consumerism, given that we started with this example, is important; Why?
Simple, if the money isn't spent, the economy doesn't turn around; without consumerism many of those traders who go on TV to complain would go bankrupt.
And then I repeat, everything is subjective, if I adopt a different type of life, minimalist to the extreme for example, for me it is consumerism to buy new clothes when I could reuse my t-shirts indefinitely (yes, my sweatshirts and my shirts are years old); the soccer game or the gym is consumerism, because in the end I can train and keep fit simply by doing bodyweight exercises and going for a run in the park without spending a euro;
Who gives a fuck about the euro, you can't take away my soccer! Sorry, sorry for a second the Rolex-wearing communist in me has taken over.
it's consumerism to buy a birthday cake or pastries, I could easily learn to make them at home; in short, following a certain reasoning everything is consumerism and 90% of sellers and traders should fail.
Incidentally, it would be fine with me, I would easily go back to bartering and I don't think I would have major adaptation problems.
As a boy I had many groups and companies and, I remember that my friends always looked at me bewildered; I hung out with the Scouts, the Punks, the school revolutionaries and the jocks; in short, I knew how to adapt to every group and I was comfortable wherever I put myself; I've always thought of this characteristic of mine as a great gift to develop because I believe that, as was the case with dinosaurs, those who don't adapt and don't evolve simply die out.
Adapting does not mean homologating; I am the prime example of this, I am all that is outside the box, also because I probably adhere to all possible and imaginable schemes.
Nowadays it's revolutionary to do volunteer work, it's countercurrent not to care about trends and so on I could go on and on, these are all things I do for example; the fact remains that I inform myself and know the fashions of the moment, it is not said that I adopt them, but if I like something I do it and, in any case, I don't think I conform.
Perhaps, in the end, I think it all boils down to a matter of personal well-being; I try to do what makes me feel good and, since I've been married, what makes my family feel good; if this means living in a camper and traveling around the world, I'll do this; if it means attending wild celebrations for some occasion then this will be it; it could be everything and the opposite of everything, the important thing is that it creates well-being for my family and for me.
For everything else there is mastercard .... mmm no sorry I was wrong that was something else.
For everything else that's fine, everyone goes where he wants to go, everyone ages as he pleases but don't tell me what freedom is; I couldn't steal this verse, it fit perfectly!
This will be a very long post and, I know, I've already gone further, so I salute you; I hope it can be rendered discreetly in English since unfortunately some things are really very dialectal and perhaps some nuances will be lost in the translation with Italian.
I want to leave you with a few more verses from this beautiful song by Francesco Guccini, it's called "Quattro ragcci"... I'll also leave you the video.
But I am proud of my dreaming
Of this eternal stumbling of mine
And laugh in the face of what you are looking for and will never have
You don't know it takes science
It takes perseverance to age
Without maturity
But mature or not, I've had enough
Of your complex simplicity
But then who said you're right
With your maturation "Also Sprach".
Or is it a ready-to-use illusion
As an eternal victim of abuse
Abuse of a closed world and fatality
Everyone goes where he wants to go
Everyone ages as they please
But don't tell me what freedom is
Thanks for making it to the end, feel free to leave any thoughts in the comments below.
Hug you!
English is not my first language but I try, please forgive any errors.