escapingbabylon.com

So, Ariah’s post on letting your values guide your cost of living, and not your income set of a stream of thoughts in the shower this morning. First of all I do agree with him. There’s a thought that came to my mind, and so be patient as I follow my tangent oriented brain down a couple of corridors.

I value art and good design, it is not my top priority, but all other things being equal (and other priorities met to some satisfaction) I will pay more money for better design and better art in whatever I’m purchasing. Thinking about this and how it fits in with the idea behind Ariah’s post, my brain started going down another avenue. A thought that I’ve heard people express, which is similar (but not the same) as the one I’ve just expressed, is that they buy certain objects is that they use/wear/drive these particular objects as a way to express themself. I wonder if this is true/possible (and if I’m overusing slashes).

Can a persons purchases of mass-produced objects be truly a means of self expression, or is this just part of an advertiser-created culture that says that we are defined by what we do (or do not) purchase? Also, part of what Ariah’s post says is that our values, one way or another, are expressed (non-exclusively) through our purchasing decisions. If I may extend that statement in saying that our values and our personalities are expressed through our purchasing decisions, how do we draw the line between having our purchases reflect our values and having our purchases define our values?