The adventures at Target continue. Target is just that rich. It is a destination of vast inspiration, observation, and philosophical reflection.
I don’t often go shopping with my child. When you live in the country, there just aren’t that many options. I could take her to the hunting and game store to get some fleece? Or perhaps Agway for some seeds? If we are feeling really feisty we might make a trip to the farmers market for some maple syrup? But other than that, there isn’t much point in going to stores because when you do need something, you mostly have to go to these giant corporate mega stores.
Which is how we ended up at Target.
So the Munch and I have a deal. Every time we go to Target, she is allowed to pick out one toy… one toxic chemical laden off-gassing toy made in a factory with conditions I can’t even fathom. The horror. Why does it have to be this way??!! Hey Mattel… can’t you pay people a living wage AND only have them work 9 hours AND still make millions of dollars? I BET YOU CAN!
As we were walking down the aisles looking at all the pink plastic potential possessions, The Munch started to get overwhelmed.
Munch: Mamma, there is just too much stuff to choose from. There is too much of everything. I can’t make a decision.
That is exactly it right? The prevailing problem of modernity. There is too much of everything. Too many options. It is paralyzing when we are bombarded with endless selections for everything. The other day, I got on my computer to look through Amazon for an iPhone case, and 4 hours went by before I finally picked one. I hate the one I got too – just because I know there is a better one out there. But if there were just 3 options, black, white, and grey, it would have been so much easier to live with my choice.
When everything is so accessible and in such abundance it doesn’t make us happy. It makes us miserable. Maybe it was hard to be a Viking, and wear the same fur pelt every day, but maybe it was incredibly freeing not to have to think about it. Yeah maybe it was tiring eating gruel every day in old England, but is that any worse than standing with your thumb up your ass at the grocery store trying to pick out which brand of peanut butter? Our minds are limited, and can only absorb so much information and stimulus before they start to short circuit. If we are filling our heads with meaningless choices about what to buy, then how can we have the mental energy to think about what is really important?
