I subscribe to a lot of subreddits relating to lifestyle activities and hobbies I'm engaged in, and a part of me is saddened by how many of the posts in those subs are about consumption. Today I got drawn in to a post on /r/hammockcamping about buying gear specific to that very narrow hobby, one which for me is incidental to other pursuits (hammock camping is just a part of camping to me, which in turn is just lodging for kayaking trips). It made me a little sad to see someone worrying about custom gear in a pursuit that a lot of us get into for its simplicity and minimalism, but that instead draws us into further consumerism. I commented to that effect, and of course the community's response was downvotes.
Camping gear is definitely a weakness for me, and it's getting harder as the industries surrounding outdoor pursuits expand. If you're into camping today, you're bombarded with ads for fancy coolers, hammocks with sophisticated features and high-end custom accessories, various new electronic gadgets, and much more, on top of the traditional array of high-end "traditional" camping gear like sleeping bags and tents. The same is true in other outdoor pursuits, and probably has been for a very long time, but from my perspective it seems like the pressure is growing.
I am not strictly minimalist when it comes to gear. I spend a lot on kayaking equipment and personal electronics, because those things are very important to me and I get a lot of use out of them. But with all the other things in my life competing for my money, it's easy to lose track of how much I spend and how much stuff I acquire.
I'm starting to think of money in terms of the work I have to do to acquire it. I could add a quilt to my hammock, but I'd have to work a few hours to pay for it, and really what I spend today is multiplied through compound interest to even more days of work at the retirement end of my career. Perhaps a quilt would make my hammock camping more comfortable, but would it be worth another working day added to my career? Perhaps it is, perhaps it isn't; I think that what matters is starting to think about it and make decisions mindfully with regard to their impact on my whole life.
Submitted August 09, 2017 at 09:18PM by NotRoryWilliams http://ift.tt/2wJT1QD
