Soul Searching Saturday #1: Buying When You Can't Afford To

I love shopping.

I like the thrill of walking around the store with money in my pocket. I like feeling elated when watching the cashier ring up my purchases. I become excited from seeing that total number and knowing I can pay for the items. I like buying things for friends and family, to show them that I am financially able to help or spoil them. I love to buy things I want, taking them home, and showing them off Instagram. And judging by the number of "haul videos" on YouTube, I am not alone.

Everyone I know wants to be accepted by others in some way and sometimes that means putting on an appearance that may not reflect our true selves.

Can you remember the last time you had no negative feelings or felt very little negativity about your lifestyle until you logged on to a social media site? It is here that you see images of "friends" or followers posting the best moments of their lives. It could be a vacation in Paris with family, getting a high score on an exam, or buying a new pair of sneakers. Suddenly, you feel the need to compete or compare yourself to others. You begin to question your own importance based on material items and validation from others.

I was a victim of social media envy. I bought things I couldn't afford to fit in with people I am no longer friends with. I became very unhappy with myself when I tried to please others by listening to music I didn't like, going places I didn't feel comfortable, and I became involved in situations that endangered my future and my job because I needed to be validated by people who cared very little about me.

I am fully recovered now that I have deactivated all of my social media outlets, especially Facebook. And I can say that the people who care about me are still around regardless of what I have and what I can do for them. They never ask me to go out of my comfort zone to please them. I never have to feel like I don't fit in because we don't have the same interests or the same products. These are real friends.

I have also learned that people will love you and care about you, when you love and care about yourself.

So the next time you find yourself only buying something because everyone else has it, remember who those people are that will stick by you when you have nothing. Material possessions are great to lust after, but what about when it all goes away? What do you really have left?

Be true to yourself. Love yourself. And do things for others because you want to make the world a better, more caring place, not for recognition or expectations of return on your invested time or money.

This has been a Soul Searching Saturday post. <3

Peace, love, and green tea <3

~ Domo ~