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day twenty-seven


i don't want an ipad or a new tv or a fancy car. i don't want new appliances or placemats or juice jugs. i don't want a new microwave oven or a blackberry or curtains. i don't want new rugs or brooms or cupboard doors. i don't want new bookshelves or wine glasses or hair appliances. i don't want new sheets or dressers or cutlery. i don't want any of it.

before i started this project nearly a month ago, i was certain it would make me want to go shopping. i worried that i'd get so sick of wearing the same thing day after day that i would want to go out and buy new things. i was concerned that my want for consumption would skyrocket, the antidote to deprivation being reward. after all, when last year's resolution of going vegetarian for 2009 only lasted nine months, i threw the towel in early and shovelled meat into my body like there was no tomorrow. i more than made up for what i'd lacked.

but considering what's going on in the world right now this very minute in communities near and far away, how could i feel deprived? i feel anything but. i have too many things, too many possessions, none of which i truly care about. if our house burned to the ground tomorrow, i can't think of one thing i would miss.

i was listening to the radio this evening and heard one of the most hearbreaking things ever. it was a report
 from a particular neighbourhood in haiti. the journalist said that the children were huddled together silently. they were silent because they'd lost their imaginations. take away any or all of my possessions and i won't be torn. but take away my imagination? that is true deprivation distilled down to its essence.

*****

today's look while feeling simultaneously grateful and guilty:

white nightdress under dress: knickerbox in england about 15 years ago (about $30)
yellow necktie worn around waist: donated by my dad for this project - thanks! (free)
black pants: old navy about two years ago ($30)
winter boots: aldo from last year (about $75)

grand total:
about $135.08

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