Unlearning capitalism could unravel our entire economy one thread at a time, and it starts within us. But alas, there is still so much to unlearn. Letting go of the ‘capitalistic’ mindset is one of the hardest focusses I’ve had since I became a mother. And that was over five years ago. Even now in my time of (seemingly) financial freedom. Maybe in a different sense of the phrase. Meaning, I’m in a time where I don’t need to make money. I know my privilege and what a blessing it is to be in a season of life where I finally can raise my family and that is my sole job and purpose.
Yes, we are a one income family. Yes, we only have one car. All of that usually leads people to believe that we are poor or had no choice in the matter. We certainly aren’t rich (not in a monetary sense, but in a much deeper and spiritual sense we have incredible wealth), but we aren’t poor in the conventional way. We live well within our means, even below our means most of the time. Not spending excessively, nor do we impulsively buy. I wouldn’t call us poor, even though others may see it that way.
If you know me personally, you’d say I was ‘anti-consumer’ or ‘zero waste’ (more like low waste though), which I try to be, but our crazy consumerist culture makes it hard to escape. Incredibly so. There are ways, no doubt, but first beginning to break the mold is sometimes even harder.
I want to teach my kids that money is important, true, especially in America, but it is not the most important thing. There are many other values that I hold higher than our gross annual income. My husband and I both hope to instill that in our children and I’m at the forefront of it because I stay home full time, not making any money whatsoever. And I am completely content with that. I LOVE what I do, and I often tell people it is the best job I have ever had.
In the beginning of our marriage, I had a job while pregnant with our first. I loved it. It was at a local college library and that was probably my favorite job before (officially) becoming a mother. Five or six months after having our first I tried to go back to it because I enjoyed the job, but I also didn’t enjoy not bringing home a paycheck.
I couldn’t stand that I wasn’t earning money for the first time since I was fifteen. Even starting this blog had the intention of bringing in money, but I quickly learned that in order to do that I would have to treat it like a full time job. I just felt like I couldn’t take away any time from my newfound motherhood. There was so much I was learning about that, that I couldn’t pause it to learn all the ins and outs of monetizing a blog too.
Unlearning Capitalism as a Spiritual Practice
On a more personal note, with the last few months, I have been diving into scripture much more. I don’t often talk about my spiritual side on here anymore. Mainly because it’s always evolving and becoming deeper in some way that is just for me, really. Such solace and grace is found there. In these last few months of inner turmoil, a few verses have helped remind me that I’m on the right track with this whole ‘unlearning capitalism’ thing.
Set your mind on things that are above, not on the things that are upon the earth.
colossians 3:2
For all that is in the world the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the vainglory of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
1 John 2:16
I’m no scholar but even the Bible has simple anti-consumer advice! The second verse I had actually heard prior, from Ram Dass. Another wonderful man of God (his name actually translating to servant of God) who had a tremendous impact on my life. His quote was much simpler to digest “Be in the world, but not of it”. That’s what it is all about!
Both verses speak to the lack of value that ‘worldly’ things have. At the end of the day they’re empty and we don’t take ANYTHING with us when we go. Nothing but our heart and whatever faith we have. All that other ‘stuff’ gets left behind, on the earth, in the world, where it will remain forever.
Possibly becoming someone else’s responsibility and then they move on, and the cycle continues. None of it is ever really ours to begin with. We’re just holding on to it, clinging to it because we feel like it matters. And yes, some of it does.
But the point is to not let it consume you.
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Why I took down ads
The decision to put ads on my blog was a hesitant one.
- Because I hate ads. Don’t we all? I understand they help us, the blogger, make money. But at what cost to the reader? At what cost to the blogger? I’ll talk more about that in a minute.
- Because I didn’t know how to do it. Plain and simple. YEAH RIGHT. It was anything but simple.
It took me almost 3 years to get ads on my blog and I almost threw in the towel because of how absurdly complicated it was. The internet has changed quite a bit since the days of Myspace. Where are my 90’s kids at?!
I can still feel the clinging of wanting to earn some kind of income. For a while, I’d sell vintage clothes on a secondhand site. It was always just an exchanging of goods. I grew tired of that type of relationship to others. The role of ‘salesperson’ gets old. Especially if you’ve worked retail most of your life like me.
Recently, I’ve been reading (I’ve since finished) Resisting a Throwaway Culture, a Catholic based book on lifestyle ethic and views about cultural/societal aspects. Much of the book is tied into anti-consumerism because it boasts a lifestyle around community, hospitality and encountering other beings as dignified creatures of God. Instead of treating others as a disposable piece of society or an inconvenience to our own life. A truly profound book that made me cry, angry, inspired, hopeful, and most of all motivated to live my life a different way.
I don’t want to turn this into a book review, but of this post is stemming from the fire under my butt lit up by this book. Charles Camosy does an exquisite job of examining all facets of our society and how we treat many of them as disposable. Resisting a Throwaway Culture has made me really look deeper into my own relationship to consumerism, where unlearning capitalism begins and what desires are still keeping me from letting go of wanting to earn money.
One major takeaway from this, if any, is that if I don’t have a desire to buy beyond necessity then my desire for money fades away. I’ve curbed so much of my material desires to the point of spartanism. Then I dialed that back a bit and found the balance between the two. I now only want what I need and I am content with that.
It’s true, I was hesitant to take them down. I tried to just lessen them, but that was almost more complicated than trying to put them up. Taking them down put a lot of doubt into my head though because I’d be losing money, not much at all. I mean seriously I was BARELY making two digits a month. But hey, it was something. Something I earned and worked for. But like I said above, at what cost to you the reader.
I received an email, gosh I don’t even remember when. I think when I first put them up. Regardless, it said something to the effect of “the ads really don’t make it seem like a slow living or minimalism blog at all”. I can’t recall her exact words, but Aurora, if you’re reading this, I wholeheartedly agree with you.
Cheers to unlearning capitalism & not being spammed with ads,
Tayler
