SHOPPING AND THE SPIRITUALITY INVOLVED

            

         

           Shopping can mean many different things and that meaning can be completely different for every individual person.  For example, I use it as a relaxing escape from my everyday stressful worries.  It helps me deal with the world and feel as if I’m free to choose what I desire without anyone intervening.  The simple fact of going to a certain store and looking at items I might want to buy is enough to make me feel in control and in sync with everyone else there.

            As I mentioned earlier I don’t always have to purchase an item to feel in control or connected to other people.  Phyllis Rose believes that there is a difference between buying and shopping because shopping does not always involve the purchase of any object (Rose, 1984).  It is more spiritual than materialistic because it serves many functions in someone’s life. For example, for Rose personally it serves as a spiritual self-discipline because it helps her to realize that she is the way she is and there is no reason to be ashamed because many other people go through the same problems as you might. She mentions this spirituality in shopping because of the issue she had in the past with buying blue jeans but if you really think about it any issue you may have should become smaller if you realize that everyone in this world has issues and sometimes even worse than your own. She also believes that shopping can help us cheer up, make decisions, make us feel as if we really are a useful member or our society and many other things.

            In her article, Rose argues against the statement that Americans are materialistic because of her belief in the spirituality of shopping against the materialism of buying. Throughout her article she stresses the differences between the two by using not only a critical but also a lyrical tone. She finds fault in the belief that Americans are materialistic for the simple fact that they use shopping as an outlet from the world. However, she doesn’t simply criticize this belief; she also brings in a personal anecdote from her life which makes her tone slightly lyrical. This anecdote comes from her past experience in buying jeans which she believed did not look good on her. She uses this statement to prove that shopping, to her, served as something spiritual, a way of feeling better about the way she was born and the way she will always be.

            All in all, Rose stresses the fact that shopping does not always involve buying. She also stresses to her audience, in this case people who believe Americans are materialistic, that they are wrong to believe that all we care about is purchasing an item. Shopping serves as therapy not only as an enjoyment in life but the most important aspect of shopping is the spirituality behind it.

By Laysi Almanza, Pre- Med student at USFSP.

References

Rose, p. (1984). SHOPPING AND OTHER SPIRITUAL ADVENTURES. 1-2.