The Spirit Of Giving: Choosing Wisely

It's been a year since thousands of people of all ages and persuasions filled the streets of Seattle calling for change. Since that time, there have been other skirmishes in the effort to save ourselves and our planet from the unbridled corporate greed that is the prevailing philosophy during these early days of the new millennium.

We are now at the beginning of another season of celebration: a season that has as its basis a celebration of thanksgiving for the bounty of our Mother Earth; a time of sharing between people and cultures.

The season continues with celebrations of the miracles of the light, the lengthening of the days, the kindling of the flames that once burned in the holy temple, and the birth of the divine light among us.

Yet the big push, if we accept societal norms, would have us celebrate these deeply spiritual days with an orgy of crass consumerism.

The dominant culture would have us measure our well being through economic indicators of corporate profit. Year after year, news commentators gleefully announce the "good news" from the malls.

Again this year, they hope to brand us with corporate logos -- on our clothes, our cars, our minds, our hearts -- ubiquitous logos that represent the emptiness of a culture that places more value on what you own than who you are.

And it is this branding that continues to enrich the rich and rob the rest of us, mining the human resources of our communities, as it mines the natural resources of the earth.

We can go like sheep to the slaughter, as overcome by the poisons of corporate greed, the toxic wastes of a "post modern" genetically engineered future, as the victims of an earlier holocaust were overcome by the fumes of organophosphate poison gas.

Or we can choose to subvert this era's holocaust by buying nothing, if only for one day. We can commit to refrain from spending our money on unnecessary "toys", perhaps made in sweatshops by economic slaves, to soothe our wounded souls.

We can commit to not purchase genetically modified foods and clothing that have the potential to radically alter all of creation.

Rather, we can choose to build our community, with all its local color, flavor and vitality, by supporting locally or cooperatively owned, operated or made products and businesses.

We can spend our time, a commodity far more valuable than money, in quality ways, with our family, friends and fellow community members. And finally, we can give the greatest gift: sharing the ultimate renewable resource, our love.

In doing these things, we thwart corporate greed, corporate power, corporate domination. We refuse to be branded. We choose light and life for the planet, for ourselves, and for future generations.

This season, buy nothing, buy Co-op or at the very least, purchase with an eye toward the future. Your time is more valuable than your money. Spend both wisely. Happy Holidays!