An Observation (viii)

I am guest-posting on my own blog. I'm like that.

I am writing Adventy things on my personal blog that aren't so much Occupied. But a recent post about giving has stayed with me, and feels like a follow-up on my my last post here about Giving What We Have To Give. So I'm pasting in here too.

This is a bit related to a post I wrote last year about giving to people, not causes, so if this is a theme that you're thinking on, you may find it helpful to revisit that one too. The part I want my heart to remember in all of this is that Living Occupied isn't about spending my money in different ways that are "better" - it's about spending my life in way that is freedom-giving and life-making and that leaves the money question way far behind in like, millionth place.  Money-first decisions, about giving at Christmas or giving to charities - those decisions are going to be bad, heart-hurting decisions.  Life/Love-first decisions... those ones are the ones that will change this world and this heart.

This post is unapologetically Jesus-y (again) since of course, I'm all Jesus-y and all, but should Jesus really be a tripping point for you, well, maybe you'll still hear Good News in the middle of all this?

And so, a heart-first plea, In Defense of Giving:

Good (edit out bad word) am I tired of presents becoming either The Most Important Thing or The Most Awful Thing.  Either we're being asked to buy presents (new unwrapped toys only please) for the poor in our first world nation, or we're being told to give up buying gifts altogether and instead just buy chickens and cows for the nameless poor we've never met but for whom we should be feeling badly for the next few weeks. 

I am UP IN ARMS I tell you! Up. In. Arms.

Somehow we have forgotten what the point of it all is - it is not about the Gifts!! It is about the Giver! We give to each other to do our best imitation of the Great Giver, the First Giver, the Only Giver Who Gives Well. We do it to remember how hard it is to get it right, to remember how hard it is do it with a warm, generous heart, to remember how much pleasure there is when we do find a way to get it a little right and give warmly and generously. 

We give to our children so that they will learn how to receive.  We coach them to look for the love that the gift is given from - that's why all kids in all time have learned to say thank you for even the ugly hand-made sweater from whoever finds the time to knit one! Because we are being thankful that someone, SOMEONE!!! someone loves us enough to try to bring us delight. 

If we decide our children have enough stuff and instead ask them to give up receiving and instead be glad to give to the nameless poor a million miles away, we teach them not generosity, but pity.  We teach them that their own needs are silly and unimportant, compared to the REAL need  somewhere out there that they've not yet seen.  Does God ever do that? Does God ever say, "You, you well-off okay person who is sad and lonely - there is someone sadder and lonelier so I'll be giving my best stuff to them and probably you should stop your boohooing and give to them too."  Nope. God doesn't.  Not one time does Jesus say to someone who stopped him for help, "You? you've already got enough! I'm saving my miracles for someone who needs it more."  Not one time. 

Because it turns out we all need.  The reason why it is so hard for a rich person to get into the Kingdom of Heaven is because it is so hard for them to see that they need anything at all.  But in fact, as anyone who has ever not found what they were waiting for under the tree knows, we all want something.  We all need something.  And our need for whatever that thing is infinite and bottomless and the source of all pain. A need not to be filled in this life. A need Jesus sees in each of us.

So, I get it. That's kind of deep and not so helpful at Christmas:  your kid doesn't need anything.  They have more than enough toys. More than enough books and clothes and sports equipment.  But your kid does need to know that they are noticed. That they are known. That what feels important to them is seen and cared about by the people they are longing to be seen by.  

Now the trouble is that in our world, all the focus has landed on The Gift and I join in with all I have to say nope, that's not it.  My children will not receive The Best Gift Ever from me. Nor will they be overwhelmed by the Too Much I Can't Focus under a magically lit tree when they wake up in the morning.  But they will receive a few small things that we can afford that tell them that we've noticed them and care about the things they love and enjoy. We will point out the love that is behind each gift received from aunts and uncles and grandparents.  And we will celebrate the wonder of being worthy of all that love.

And through all of this Advent that brings us to that morning, I'll be saying over and over, Jesus is the Gift that we're really waiting for.  Every time.  No gift will be the right one the way Jesus is the Right One. But all this anticipation and excitement? That's meant to remind us of how we should feel about the gift God has given in the giving of His Only Begotten Son.   

So give your children gifts, small modest ones that are a joy to receive and that do not demand being a source of eternal fulfillment.  Help your children give what they have to give to the people they've been asked to love.

And then relax. Please, just relax. It's meant to be good news. Good News.

Idea #13: Give What You've Got

Oh gift giving.  So often, so fraught.  Or maybe that's just me who gets panicky and anxious thinking about either a) having to buy The Right Present for people or b) not getting The Right Present from people? It can be a drag, that's what I know.  But this year, I am kind of excited about it.

That may be strong. This year, I am kind of willing.  More willing.

I'm going to preach a little sermon now, because this little sermon is the reason for my willingness.  It's a sermon I've preached a lot of times (by "preach" I mean, said outloud to people who innocently asked a question, any question at all really) - it may be my go-to Jesus story for explaining what I believe about this life of ours.  Probably, if you've sat with me for more than an hour and chatted about life or faith or Jesus or density bonusing or the cost of rice, you've heard this sermon. But read it again, humour me, and see if you too find a new way of getting to gift-giving this Christmas.

(And here, a caveat for my not-Jesus-loving friends: Truth lives everywhere, and just because you don't dig Jesus doesn't mean there isn't a possibility that you'll trip across some Truth near where he sits. So be brave and read on.  Sarah.)

So, there's a story about a super-smartypants religious guy gets a chance to ask Jesus a question, and after pointing out how he's got most of this life thing figured out, including being extra great at all the rules of the church,  says, "To be clear, I'm following all the rules, but of all those rules, which one is the one that guarantees I'm in?"

Jesus answers, "Well, what do you think it is?" And the guys answers, "Love God and love your neighbour. That's the one."  I think he's waiting for a gold star, but as far as I can tell, Jesus just kind of nods and smiles and is about to go find lunch when the super-smartypants guy says, "But who is my neighbour?"

And then Jesus does that thing that Jesus does when people try to corner him into the corner of their choosing: Jesus starts telling him a story.  A story of how a guy gets beaten up and robbed and left for dead on the side of the road. A story about how people who should have stopped to help him, don't.  A story about how a guy who isn't a religious leader and isn't from the other guy's town does stop, does clean him up, does load him into his car (donkey, it was a donkey...), does take him to an inn and says, "Here's some money. Take care of him, do what's needed. I'm good for whatever it costs."  A guy does all that.  Having told the story, Jesus asks his inquiring friend, "So, who was the neighbour?"

Variously, over the years, I've heard it preached where we should learn from this story that our neighbour is not just the people next door, but people from outside our church, or outside our neighbourhood, or a stranger, unless it's someone we know and as one kid at bible camp this summer said, It's Everyone!

I think maybe it's not everyone. If it had been everyone, I think Jesus would have said, Love God and Love Everyone Else.  But instead he's kind of specific: Love Your Neighbour.

It's possible that our neighbour is everyone. I just hope it isn't because I can barely love the people in my sweet, small world most days.  What I do wonder is if maybe our neighbour is actually anyone who we come across on our journey who needs what we have to give.  And then maybe, anyone who comes across us who has what we need to receive.

So, right, about Christmas presents?

The beauty of the story for me is that the Samaritan doesn't give the poor injured guy a pamphlet about how God loves him.  He doesn't heal him.  He doesn't bring him home and give him a home and food. He barely interupts his trip - he apparently stays at the hotel or inn or whatever it was just long enough to say, "Do something, I'll pay for it," before carrying on.  What he does do is give what he has:  time, some basic first aid, a ride and some credit at a decent place to recover.

And so as I think about giving this Christmas, I am realizing that in years past, it has been fraught and difficult because I kept making myself give out of what I did not have (namely money, and then maybe good ideas) and people often gave what I did not need.  And both felt empty and not-so-full-of-love.

This Christmas, I am going to speand some time really thinking about what it is I have to give.  I'll think about my abundance, make a list of things I am thankful for, and really linger in the places where there is overflow.  And after I've lived there for a while, I'll start thinking of what I have to give out of that abundance, and where it will fit with what people need.  And where there is a match, I'm thinking there's also going to be some joy. Or peace. Or something else good.

What there won't be is guilt.  There won't be feeling badly because I've spent what I do not have to give what is not needed.  There won't be anger because having given what I could not afford, it is received with barely-disguised confusion.  There won't be debt - I will not owe anyone and I will not feel owed because I have given freely out of too much and so hey, that can be free!

There will be people whom I love who do not need what I have to give.  And so then I'll suck it up and try to give anyway, because that's what grown-ups do.  But I bet that won't feel so impossible after living and giving out of the big bucket of More Than Enough that I have.

Living Occupied means not agreeing with the onslaught of advertising that says that what must be given is a thing that is not needed that I can not afford. It means looking really carefully at the people we love to see what it is they need (hint:  I bet it's not always a thing) . It means paying at attention to who they are and not what they own.

So what do you have to give? Where is your abundance this Christmas?

An Observation (vii.i)

Right in the middle, if you look REALLY carefully, you can see the ocean.

One thing about writing these things down and then telling people on Facebook that I'd like them to read it is that I end up a bit paralyzed with angst over being misunderstood.  And by misunderstood, I mostly mean, people not agreeing with  me. Because as my husband will attest, I am most often right, so if another does not agree with me, clearly, they have just misunderstood what I was trying to say because it goes without saying that if they did understand me, they'd agree.

And here's one thing I'm right about:  You're Rich Too.

My daughter thinks we're rich, but not really in the way I hope she thinks we are when she's a bit older.  For her it was a pretty simple leap: if rich people have more than they need, and she hasn't experienced any deep want, we must be rich. There isn't anything much attached to that yet - it's just a statement of five-year-old fact.

But soon, like all of us, she will start noticing what she doesn't have.  She'll see what her classmates bring to school; she'll start watching television when I'm not there to make sure it's of the ad-free variety (thank you lord for video-on-demand); she'll start spending time online and reading and being in places with her brain where I can not be and where the culture we live is constantly murmuring "you deserve this too..." 

And when that happens, she'll be tempted into some old-fashioned scarcity thinking.  And that will be a drag. I wish I knew what to do about that.

For now, I'm just working on my own No Way Jose to the culture.  I am practicing remembering I have more than enough.   When I forget, I do things like check the Global Rich List (I am the one percent!) or walk 3 blocks west and look at the ocean.  That I can see from the grocery story. 

If you are someone I know, it is most likely that you are rich too.  It is most likely that you don't feel like it most days, but alas, the reason the world needs therapy is that massive gap between how we feel and what is true.

We have to remember this part so that we remember our job: our job to share out of our abundance. 

As we move into Advent and Christmas, I am going to try to carry this abundance-heart with me so that I can give a bit more freely.

I think this is what it means to be occupied.  I think living in abundance and rejecting the whispering voice that says "you deserve this too...", I think THAT is where freedom is at.

An Observation (vii)

I'm posting tonight's entry from my personal blog. I don't know if anyone reads this anymore, but as Christmas approaches, I am hoping to write a few reminders back here at ye olde "Occupy Me" about what values we carry into the holidays, a season that is meant to remind us of goodness, but mostly just asks us to live in our discontent.

This episode seems like a good starting point:

Today the kids and I stopped at our snack spot for some smoothie and banana bread.  I paged through the local daily and the boy asked what I was reading about.  As it turned out, the teaser was "The Vanishing Middle Class" and the article was summarizing a recent study that shows that since 1970, poverty and affluence have each and both deepened and moved, with poverty suburbanizing and affluence taking over city centres and of course, all the nice parts.

Once I explained what the word "vanishing" means, I then had to reassure the boy that we weren't going to disappear: no matter what, we're still visible, our little family.

Next was giving the preschool version of class divisions: the rich are the people who have more than they need and the poor are the people who don't have what they need and the middle class are the people who are just right.  And then I did my quick sermon about how the world works best when the people who more than they need can share with the people who don't have what they need.

And then my girl said, "We're rich, right mom?"

Right.

Idea #2: Need Less, Redux 2.0

So there were two things I was going to write about last time, but I kind of got bored with myself and had to stop.  But the second one has been lingering around the edges and refusing to leave me alone, so finally, here follows more of me on Needing Less.

As I had mentioned, a friend had talked about how tired he is of his discontent, and how annoying it is that no amount of consumption seems to take the edge off said discontent and in fact, somehow seems to fuel it. 

This is the math at the heart of our economic structure: Earning --> Consumption = Stuff = Disappointment = Need to Earn More = More Consumption = Greater Disappointment = (insert infinity here). 

It's bad math, obviously.  Lots of studies like this one have shown that affluence and its attendant accumulation of stuff leads to depression and drug use in teenagers.  Earning more money generally requires time devoted to the earning of said money which generally requires time away from the people who give us pleasure and the things we've purchased with the money we earned to buy them.  It's actually most surprising that given how obviously stupid and backward it is, we all continue to participate in such a dumb system.  And yet...

And yet.

We all feel powerless to do otherwise, don't we? I can't really think of a way to undo our participation in it all - we do after all need somewhere to live, to say nothing of food to eat and perhaps an option or two for transportation. Opting out is unlikely.

But participating aware.  What if we did that? What if we undid the part of the equation where we add up a bunch stuff and wait for it to equal contentment?  What if we just stopped the math for a moment or two and wondered if maybe we already had what we needed?

What if we decided instead that we would only add to our lives things and people that leave us ...grateful?

Grateful.  Full of gratitude.

Not resentment. Not guilt.  Not ill-will or jealousy or dissatisfaction.

We have a boat. We have kept a boat through low income and infant babies and my inability to figure out how to dock it because we are certain that the cost is more than outweighed by the benefit of having a reason to be together, to learn new things, to explore, to meet people, to see our favourite part of this creation.

Last week we went to a social event with some other boat owners and it was so fun.  So much fun. I left feeling so thankful for being in a world I would have never known had it not been for my sweet sailing husband, so thankful that I get to meet so many other young families who think being together in damp, cramped corners and trying to anchor without tossing a spouse overboard is the stuff Good Life is made of.

But there was a moment or two when the joy could have been stolen. When I heard about one woman's much newer, bigger boat.  When I realized that one woman was so much braver than me, being crew for her husband racing.  When I realized that I was the only one who would have to have someone "catch" at the ladies' cruise...

But friends, Hell NO! I will not let guilt and jealousy and covetousness steal Joy! and Life! and Awesome! from me. I will not allow ourselves to believe that newer and bigger and better justifies giving up more of our life to earn more money to have more than we have so that I can....  so that I can what?  Feel better? Ha. I know the math and I know that's not how it works. Better is now. Better is already here. And if I'm not careful, Better ends up way behind me.

So I will need less.  Need. Less.  And then live with profound gratitude that what little I need has been provided so easily and that in fact, I live with more than I need most days.  And I will dance in thankfulness and insist that my husband dance with me and we will dance so often and so happily that we won't see the other guy's better sails or swishily kept bottom paint... we'll just keep on dancing in gratitude damnit.

In the new math, Contentment comes when we focus on Needing Less instead of on Wanting More. Rest comes when our eyes rest on that which makes us grateful.  Should a thing in your life bring you anything less than gratitude, give it away and let it distract you no more.  Life only with the things that make you thankful.

That's where contentment lies, I'm certain.

IDEA #2 (again!) Response: 
What do have that sometimes threatens to make you Want More and forget to Need Less? 

Idea #2: Need Less, Redux

I should own almost all of these.

When this post was first written, it was the one that got us to Pay Cash.  It is the one idea that has stuck, that keeps the Occupy Movement top of mind for me most days. It has created a daily reminder of our limits. It is also a daily No Thanks to the banks and their fees and their not-so-great corporate structures that create a lot of not-so-goodness in our world. I like paying cash, a lot.

However, the title... the title haunts me.  Need Less.  I'm not sure that we need less yet. Certainly we don't want any less.

Two things are making me extra thoughtful about this this week. One was a post by my friend Rory where he differentiated between having a social conscience and doing social justice. The other was a conversation with a friend about how useless consuming is to fend off discontent. (I realize by the end of this post that I can't do the second part, so I don't, so probably that will be next week's effort... maybe.)

By Rory's definition, the ideas that I've come up with here are, for all intents and purposes, merely the outcome of a social conscience and while sweet and thought-provoking, they are ultimately useless (I should clarify here, Rory didn't actually say this - I am wondering if I think this after reading what he's written). Social justice on the other hand, is the part that actually matters, that actually ends with something different and new and Socially Good.

The thing is, I've done a bit of the social justice gig - I've put my body where my mouth is, and I've walked the walk and (insert cliche about not just talking here).  And while that was good and right in the moment, and while there is probably somewhere in the great state of New Jersey, something a bit different or new or Socially Good to show for my efforts, there is very little of it.  Now of course, that probably speaks mostly to my own personal  ineffectiveness and not to the global worthiness of pursuing Social Justice. 

And yet. 

And yet, as I think about the great Social Justicers of our time - how much better and different and new is anything? True, black men and women can vote in the United States now, and eat at any lunch counter they want.  But is Dr. King's dream realized? not so much if you read up on prison stats, or poverty stats or any other quality of life statistic. I could go on and on about the Great Fails of Social Justice, just because today, despite the best efforts of so many, the world remains so deeply, truly, appallingly Injust.

This sounds a wee bit cynical eh?

But less than you think - because I think one thing I need less of these days is success.  Less success at getting it right, less success at creating justice, less success at making a difference.  Success for me must remain a distance away I think.  Having a social conscience? it's less pressure. Maybe I'm a cheater - in fact, it's likely.  But the goal for me can not be to Succeed and Change The World.  It remains only to change me a tiny bit. Small acts in a slightly new direction will have to be enough.  I can't help but think that if there are enough of them, they might create some kind of critical mass that looks like Real Change this side of heaven that would be worthwhile.

Needing Less.  Less Success.  That's what I'm thinking about today.  Needing less success makes it easier not to quit oddly enough.

And you? three months after the initial Need Less post, what are you needing less of?

An Observation (vi)

So that Christmas was something huh?

Christmas was what Christmas is: full and busy and contradictory and painful and wonderful and sometimes even joyful. It was family and friends and food and outrageous demands borne of outrageous expectation that is beautifully enough, borne of The Hope that started the whole thing.

That we all join in and do it over again in another year is testament to the Goodness that must lurk at its centre, surely.

The New Year has begun with a bang for my little occupied family and so we will call this (Pre)Occupied 2012, where we see what of our occupied living can survive the stormy seas that are our life for the foreseeable future. Because most certainly this much is true: true change is only that which remains changed through every season.  It is easy enough to be People Over Profit and fix instead of replace and take an extra three hours to shop locally in independent stores to get a week's worth of groceries when life is otherwise possible.

But when life takes a turn for the Impossible as sometimes it does, the unnecessary and unlikely are quick to be dropped in favour of the I Guess I Cans.  So far, we can still pay cash. We can still choose the preferred grocery vendors. We can tip well and be kind to workers doing work we would prefer not to do. We'll see about the rest.

I'm not sure what that means for writing here. I have commissioned the Occupied Investing post and hope to have it here soon.  I don't know what it will say, but I won't lie: I really liked my introduction for it. I am also planning to continue my revisiting of the original ten or eleven ideas to see how they're working out a few months later.

If you have any other ideas, please send them. Oh, and this: please send your own stories of Occupy You and maybe we can post those? If you don't have my inbox deets, leave a comment and I'll track you down to send them.  I'd love to have a few other versions to read of this story.

(Pre)Occupy Me.

An Observation (v)

So the friend who sometimes reads the blog wrong and has been mentioned before emailed last week because she bought a Christmas tree.  Initially she said, she was getting it wrong, feeling all guilty and wrong for spending money on a tree. Then she looked around. She saw she was on a family farm. She saw her own family being together and sipping hot chocolate and choosing each other over the Cheapest, Fastest, Easiest.  She saw: she had Peopled over Profiting. 

She's been Occupied.

Living Occupied isn't about not spending money. It isn't about not being rich. It isn't about feeling guilty for the life we find ourselves living.  It isn't about what we do.

It is about Who We Are.

Living Occupied is a life where people take precedence. Where we live mindful of others - of their hearts and their lives.  Where we use our influence and affluence, not for a "greater good" but for another's good.

Enough of being greater. Enough of being better. Enough of trying harder. Enough of Me.

My friend got it.  She had the moment where seeing that Others were the beneficiaries of her time and effort and yes, even money - that's the point. The wonder of it is of course, that so often another's benefit ends up being our benefit too.  But only in that order.  It is a lie we tell ourselves when we suggest that acting in our own benefit benefits others.  Not in any way that matters.  But choosing to consider The Others Too and Maybe Even First?

Therein is our salvation.

Occupied R.  Occupied Me. 

Idea #12: Create a Sabbath Day

Okay, I know I said I was done with ideas, but then today I tripped across this one in my day and ended up obsessing over it dwelling on it for a while and decided I ought to add it to the list.  And as an aside, I've found someone who is willing to guest-write the post about Occupied Investing, so watch for that soon!

Right, but back to me. Or at least me's new idea.

Create a Sabbath. 

So this morning, on my way to church (alone - the kids are both sick but I was this week's Sunday School "teacher" so off I went) I realized I needed gas in the car. And I rolled my eyes to myself and said, probably outloud, but I don't really listen to me so I can't say for sure, "Lord, can't there be just one day when I don't spend any f'ing money??!" (The Lord likes it when I abbreviate the swear words I think. Baby steps.)

And shazzam! the answer came: Yep.

There could be a day when I don't spend any money.  It could be Tuesdays. Or SJ's first day off. Or the 21st of every month. The quarter moons.... whatever.  We could decide that there are days when we don't spend money. At all.  A money sabbath.

Now I have actually looked up the word "sabbath" to make sure that I'm not getting this altogether wrong, and I think I'm right enough that it will do.  In my mind, sabbath means "a rest".  The Jewish people were instructed in the Ten Commandments to "Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy".  I think this meant that there was one day a week where all work was to cease, and instead the community would set it aside to pay extra attention to the things and person of God.

For those of us with faith, in creating a Sabbath where we remember not to spend, we would probably find ourselves able to think a bit more on The Provider and Creator of All Things.  We might trip across some fairly wonderful Trues about where our help comes from, and where our hope lies.  We might find ourselves, in the decision to not provide our own needs for twenty-four hours, better able to meet the Giver of Life. I'd be into that.

For those of us low on faith, or maybe straight up distrustful of all things faithy, the principle remains (and of course for the faith-y people too): going a day without whatever it is we might find ourselves needing gives us an opportunity to feel need in a way we rarely do, but that so much of the world does. It would create a moment of solidarity with the many on this planet who don't spend money that day, not out of choice or conviction or lack of want, but out of necessity and in despair.

And so, this week, SJ and I are going to figure out a schedule of days on which we will take a Sabbath from spending. We'll have to check the gas tank the day before, and make sure there is wine in the cupboard (the last is optional, but you know, pleasant) and then we'll try being on purpose in the non-spending of money and see where we end up.  Could be good.

Occupy Me.

IDEA #12 Response:
What do you think would happen if you didn't spend money one day a week?  Do you ever have days when you really, truly can't spend money? Do you know someone who does? I don't know if I do...

Idea #1: Shop More Wisely, Redux

I'm not going to lie. I don't know exactly what "redux" means, but I just kind of like the effect.

So, I'm kind of interested to find out what I'm thinking about all these ideas a few weeks later (yes, I do have to read my own blog to find out what I think - I'm that much of a mystery to myself).  Each seemed so crucial and vital when they were first written.  Life has intervened, some have worked out, others have not or at least not in the way I had imagined.  Others probably just need more time.

That first idea was inspired by the accompanying image and was reinforced knowing so many people who have created work and meaning in their lives by building a business.  I think it is right and good to support those people and I also think that it is probably a decent way of redistributing wealth more equitably, at least at the service/retail sector level.  Big box stores do hire more people, and some even pay more as a wage, but the "owner" is actually a corporation so the profits are leaving my community and if they're a multi-armed entity, the profits may actually be re-invested into businesses and practices that I actually don't want to be supporting.  When I support a local, independent business I can be fairly certain that the profits are being returned to at the very least a neighbour, and hopefully at least being re-invested into their children or house or whatever.

A friend emailed this week pointing out that if you don't live in an urban setting where the goods and services you need are available, the costs to the environment and your own opportunity cost may be so high that it is actually more beneficial to centralize your shopping in one spot even if that spot isn't home to independent businesses.  I'm not sure (or willing to do the research to become sure) how one figures all that out but it is worthy of investigation if anyone is interested.

For us, most of our daily needs can be met locally.  The grocery situation has not changed much: Thrifty's weekly, Costco monthly and Apple Market (local, walkable - independently owned? I'm not sure. Buddhakind, do you know?) every 10 days or so.  It turns out that Costco isn't a terrible choice on the wage/employee decency scale and is at least better than the alternatives (namely Superstore and Walmart in my 'hood).  Thrifty's is a mixed bag. Excellent experience for me as a shopper and employees seem happy but I haven't had the nerve to ask yet if it's really okay.  Their rate my employer page is full of rants (as they are wont to be), but their "I work at Thrifty's" facebook page is more positive. No getting around having to ask I guess.

We did end up choosing local and independent for our tires.  SJ had a conversation with a co-worker who moonlights in construction about why they both thought it was important to shop up here and it really helped solidify our decision.  We also chose locally-sourced windows for our small renovation on that same principle.  It's expensive though ($400+ for the tires, I don't know what on the windows) and a choice that only those of us with relatively flexible discretionary income can manage. All the more reason to keep choosing that when we can I think, but some days it hurts.  A lot.

Christmas shopping is going to be a trick. In particular, I'm flummoxed by socks and underwear. There is no local purveyor of said items that I can think of, and the local-ish options are all big box corporate folks. I think this will be a matter of choosing the lesser of several evils - I'm definitely looking for input on this one, so comment away with ideas and suggestions.

Does anyone else have any experiences or thoughts about trying to move to more local shopping?

Oh, and finally, just because I know awesome people who are independent business owners, shop this way this week, k?

An Observation (iv)

I've been waiting for a new really great idea.

I got nothin'.

Well, I've got a couple, but they're ideas that I won't be following through on (ask me about Occupied Investing and Creating Affordable Housing if you've got some coin kicking around...) and I don't feel comfortable suggesting an action that isn't one I'm prepared to try myself.  But if circumstances change, be sure to watch for more ideas.  And of course, if you have an idea you'd like to suggest for exploration, I'm game.

In the meantime, a few thoughts.

First, I had a really happy-making conversation with a nice friend who also sometimes reads this blog.  It was happy-making because she kept saying things that were just nice about all my crazy and that made me think she probably does really, actually read my crazy.  And sometimes even think her own thinking about the crazy and that's just heartening to a person writing their crazy all over the internet.

One thing that's disheartening though, is when that friend says more than once, "But I feel so bad" or "I'm just spoiled" or any other version of What You Write Makes Me Think Less of Myself. 

It's disheartening because I'm a bit... umm, hopeful? optimistic? deluded? and kind of hoped that the crazy was going to be of the more Inspiring, I Can Do That! variety. I had kind of imagined that it would be so possible sounding, these little changes, that everyone would do it and jump onboard and suddenly we'd be living in a cash-paid-for utopia where everyone shops down the street and is paid well and has Resistance Granola for breakfast.

Alas, 'tis unlikely.  And while I have of course, reveled in despair a time or two, I mostly am at rest with the futility of it all.  (Insert sermon here about the kingdom on earth as it in heaven, a rest in The Promise, and an abiding faith that All Will Be Well.) Because while the world is not greatly changed, I am a tiny bit changed. And a tiny bit of change in me is miracle enough. If my friend and her family try using cash for a month or two and find themselves a tiny bit changed, then praise be! If another friend trips across their own tiny change, then praise be twice! And so on and so on and so on... A few tiny changes are about as much as a person like me can ask for. 

And so, in case you're a friend who considers self-flagellation in lieu of celebration, please, please, in the name of all that is holy, quit it. Choose your tiny change, from my list or from your own, but choose it, pursue and then celebrate whatever success you enjoy.  And then maybe pass it on.  Please?

In the meantime, I'll be going back to the list of eleven ideas to date, and writing a bit about how they've worked out and whatever other insights seem includable. I'll look forward to hearing from a few of you about your own experiences of trying on tiny change.  As long as they're of the celebratory variety. Got that fridge lady?

Idea #11: Carry Peace In My Pocket

(Disclosure Statement: This may be more all about me than usual.)

I foolishly sign up for email updates from several blogs - oddly, most of them urge me to consume. I should probably unsubscribe (maybe next week's idea?).  I get all the TeamBuy and EthicalDeals and BuyMoreButFeelGoodCauseItWasADeal emails a girl could desire.

Another feed I get is from Simple Mom which is certainly less consumey, and often points me in directions I like to go.  I also like to smirk at my own inside joke to myself about being a simple mom - not 'simple', like simplicity, but 'simple', like dim.  I feel a bit not-so-bright most days and it's kind of nice to think there might be a whole website set up to support me.

There is a new theme happening for Christmas, and so right now every email update shows up on my phone with the subject "Plan Your Pe.." which I automatically fill in with "perfect Christmas."  And I am Every Time gratefully surprised to open it and read "Plan Your Peaceful Christmas".

Peaceful.  Oh, yes please.

Peaceful like the dis-encampment of Occupy Vancouver this week, when miraculously the tents were taken down and moved two or three times and then ultimately gone without any police officers having to dress up in riot gear. I'm not altogether clear on why this wasn't more newsworthy - this is astonishing to me and entirely unexpected.  I am deeply thankful that neither the law enforcement officers nor the occupiers were required to be physically harmed to bring an end to this part of the protest. That it has gone mostly un-noticed and un-said in the public discourse and media reporting perhaps tells us all we need to know.

I have to confess though, that peace is not my own personal go-to.  As evidenced by The Case Of The (It Turned Out Not So) Anonymous Commenter, my own heart goes first to verbal violence and anger-fuelled retorts. I took the edge off by using facebook to vent, but I know my own heart and know that peace was not reigning there.  And that was the most peaceful encounter I probably had that day - I was raging in most directions, especially at home.

The structures that wreck us are fuelled by discord and discontent. From the Too Big To Address Here military-industrial complex that diverts all our productivity to the pursuit of war-making to You Deserve A Break Today advertising that reminds us to spend our way out of stress and ill-will and unhappiness, our world requires our Not Peace to push us to consume.

If I pursue peace, I think maybe I undermine a structure that builds itself on our ill-will and anger, a structure that loves our divisions and separateness from one other, a structure that uses violence to maintain itself.

This week, I will try carrying peace in my pocket. I will watch for ways to invest in peace and starve violence.

Occupy Me.

IDEA #11 Response:
Do you see peace as a means of undermining All That Should Not Be? In what ways can you invest in peace?

An Observation (iii)

One thing that may be true is that I'm a bit motivated in this whole Occupy Me mission by fear. Like straight up, they're coming for me terror. I'm afraid that one day the disenfranchised are going to quit being so nice about how deeply they've been screwed and do what millions have done before them and start a fight.  And since they really, truly won't have anything to lose, they're going to fight like crazy to the death.  And my friends, I am not a fighter.

A nice blog with friendly reminders to try screwing other people over less seems like a bit of an innoculation against it all, but the longer things go on, the less effective an innoculation it seems likely to be.  If it comes to the worst, I don't think any of those people are going to stop their pillaging to google who was thinking about doing something about it all.

A friend is a pastor in the great state of Oregon.  She posted on facebook tonight that the family staying in her church waiting for shelter space is headed by a mother working full-time at Walmart.

In a recent conversation with really thoughtful, peace-loving, justice-seeking friends, I found myself explaining that Walmart isn't just a kind of neutral not-so-great entity - they're Big Terrible Bad Guys Doing Evil.  And people I really like don't know.  Or sometimes know but need a cheap toaster, you know?

Oh, I know.

I know because I bought the kids jackets at Old Navy last week.

That's why they'll be coming for me.

Because despite all the writing and thinking and cash paying, I am ultimately Unchanged-Enough and most certainly the world around me is Not Changed. People will remain concerned about their own profit over that of their neighbours forever probably. And by people, of course I mean me.

The last month has had it's successes - paying cash feels right and good; we ended up buying tires from a local independent dealer down the street; I asked a client to pursue becoming a Living Wage employer; I voted and even sought out candidates' opinions on Living Wage policies.  Friends have made adjustments in their own lands and have even sometimes told me about them.  Certainly I've had a lot of conversations about the world as it is and how it might be, conversations I would not have otherwise had to be sure.

And yet.

And yet, it becomes clearer and clearer that the changes we make will not change much as long as these changes are the changes of the affluent.  Because poor people can't afford to live this way - we barely can and we're the not-so-poor. And rich people won't, or mostly don't. Because then they would be less rich.

Oh hell. 

I bet the world changers weren't depressives.  Maybe there will be new life for this tomorrow.

Occupy Christmas

So in an odd paradox, Christmas is in one little holiday, exactly what the Occupy Movement is fighting and exactly what it is fighting for...  I know, I'm a bit confused too.

But in thinking about how to Occupy Christmas, I have been stuck at the part where Christmas actually is the celebration of Jesus coming to occupy us and bring the freedom, life and community that so many of us are craving.

And yet.

And yet. Christmas as it is celebrated in my neck of the woods is actually a celebration of consumption, acquisitiveness and Too Much.  I don't know a person who doesn't at least once in December lament the state of yuletide affairs.  Too Much food, Too Much stuff, Too Much family, Too Much need... it's just All Too Much.

I am not going to write anything new or life-changing about Christmas - we all know the parts where we're supposed to make it simpler, enjoy each other, give goats and chickens instead of trash, blah blah blah. If any of those things have made you like Christmas better, please share what and how in the comments.  Instead, let me revisit the first ten Occupy Me Ideas and see how they can be adapted for nativity purposes. Is this cheating? Oh well...  read on anyway!

IDEA # 1: Shop More Wisely
Well, this was smart huh? The picture that started it all is a good one: choose independent businesses for your holiday purchases.  Local food, local employees, local owners - all of it is better than sending your dollars to anonymous bad guys in a highrise somewhere. If you have a great vendor you'll be using this year, please post a link in the comments.  Personally, I'll be asking for the Seaflora Skin Care stuff made on Vancouver Island and sold at Dream Designs.  Local, local, good for me. Win, win, win.



IDEA #2: Need Less
Again, it's like it was made for Christmas! So obviously, I'll be asking for less and giving less.  Certainly, only giving what we can afford.  Expensive debt that jeopardizes our security and enriches the anonymous bad guys is a terrible gift for our children.  We'll keep paying cash for what we do buy to a) make sure we can afford it and b) make sure no small merchant is subsidizing our decision to lie about how much we have. How will you be needing less this year?

IDEA #3: Real Food

Oh, the food at Christmas.  We are really fortunate because everyone else cooks at Christmastime. And our key cookers in SJ's family are Real Food people.  In my family, we've become a lot more Real Foody since my dad moved to a gluten-free diet, although it's been real food most of my life the way it was for most kids born in the 70s.  That said, I may make up an extra-large batch of Resistance Granola for Christmas morning just as a reminder that that's smart. And maybe we'll work a bit harder at sourcing local-er meats and treats. Any corporate food you'll be giving up this year?

IDEA #4: Support a Living Wage
Yikes, this is going to be tricky.  Christmas is so retail-intensive and the retail sector is so notoriously poor at paying a living wage.  I think choosing independent businesses might help with this since if the business is staffed by family, at you know the profts are being kept at home, you know? I'm finding asking about this really tricky, but I should probably try harder now that we'll be doing so much spending. Anyone have any recommendations for They Pay Better vendors of things we might buy this Christmas?

IDEA #5: Do Work I Would Prefer To Pay For
There are several jobs I would like to outsource over the course of December.  We won't be outsourcing them because we can't afford to mostly.  But it will be nicer to pretend that it's because we're jumping into solidarity with the many who do work I would prefer not to do.  And maybe at some point it will stop being pretending and turn into a real kinship with those who do work that is difficult and boring and that pays poorly... I think that would be a real Christmas miracle.  You?

IDEA #6: Fix It
Two things came out of this for me: One, fix things that are broken obviously.  At Christmas this means maybe replacing burnt out light bulbs instead buying all new strings as I have generally preferred to do.  The other is to buy things that can be fixed as Ryan mentioned in the comments.  This means not buying garbage for people.  Which probably means buying less, because the can't-be-fixed stuff is so much less expensive and so to upgrade to fixable will probably cost more and since we're only buying what we can afford, well, we'll be buying less. Which is kind of a win, right?  Anyone see other ways Fix It ties into Christmas?

IDEA #7: It Is Better To Give And Receive
This one is so awesome for me. Huh. Anyway, so somehow at Christmas, receiving makes me feel terrible (do you even know me?!) and giving makes me feel angry (you don't even need this and I certainly can't afford to give it!!).  Awful, right? I'm a bit scroogey for a Jesusy-type gal.  But I want to live in the part where both the giving and the receiving are reminders of my I've Got Enoughness.  I think on the giving side, paying cash and buying what we can afford is going to go a long way, as is trying to pay closer attention to what is needed, even if what is needed is just something wrapped and given in love.   On the receiving side, I am going to watch for ways the gifts given reflect the giver's own Enoughness and I will also be clearer about our needs so that givers can maybe experience their own flood of affluence that comes when you are able to give what is needed.  I would love to hear other thoughts on this - am I the only scrooge at gift giving?

IDEA #8:  Rock The Vote
So not so Christmassy, but still, another reminder to my BC readers - GO VOTE on SATURDAY!


IDEA #9: Give To People, Not Causes

Oh boy, this is a bit of a tricky one at Christmas because of course, most of us are already giving to people and most of us feel that giving charitably is part of the celebration.  Certainly most charities count on our yule-inspired generosity to gird their efforts for the year.  So maybe this:  as we choose how to give this year, we will talk to our people to find out what causes warm them up and we may give to people by giving to their causes.  But we will also watch for people who need what we have to give, be it the extra seat at our table, an evening of anything-but-Christmas chat, or extra help getting their decorations up. What are your causes people? and what do you have to give that you're hoping someone will need?

IDEA #10:  Be A People Person
It will sure be tempting to avoid people - so often it's faster, and at this time of year, friendlier.  People are stressed and over-worked and over-demanded-of and just straight up unpleasant. Machines are not. But all the more reason to be the pleasant person who does not demand and who says "please" and "thank you" and remembers that I may be the difference between making their work meaningful and making it sh*tty. I will take advantage of having a lot of spending to vote with and will vote for people as often as I can.  What will you be voting for with your Christmas spending?

Oh my, that was a lot.  I should point out that this is clearly written by someone who celebrates Christmas. I am aware that many don't.  This is written unapologetically for those who do.  If you are one who doesn't, I am certain we would benefit from reading how you plan to occupy the month of December and all that it brings to you and your family. 

In the meantime, I am looking forward to entering into the Christmas season with a clearer hope for my family, and all the more aware of how deeply we need the Gift That Was Given to get there.  Advent will indeed be a Sweet Waiting for God With Us, the best occupation I know.

Occupy Me.

Links To Good III

This is a link to an article that Mamabear did not send me. I was able to find it anyway, and thought this line was particularly awesome, when the author quotes Chesterton: There are two ways to get enough: one is to continue to accumulate more and more. The other is to desire less.  

Oh, and the link is here: A Lifestyle of Enough, Relevant Magazine

This is a link Sarah posted on Facebook that I found really helpful: Rolling Stone Magazine Article.  And then Darren posted a great Following Up On That link: Occupy Winning.  Both articulate the heart-capturing parts of the Occupy Movement for me.

Please keep sending and posting your links to good stuff!  It's life-expanding to think in all these different directions.

Oh, and don't forget to vote!

A.

Idea #10: Be A People Person!

So one thing that has happened is that now that I'm paying with cash all the time, I have to deal with people more often. To my surprise, this is a good thing.

I notice it most at the gas station.  Previously, fill-ups were a stop and go transaction between me and a largish-box with a credit card slot. Now I get to run inside, slide my Bill Reid statue (the Americans do have something on us with the nicknaming of currency, what with all those handsome Presidents) across the counter and actually say "Please" and "Thank you" to a real, live, human person.

This is nice, because hey, who doesn't like to have a quick, polite encounter with The Rest Of The World? God help them, they may be the only adult I speak to in a ten-hour span.

But it's also nice because choosing to interact with the person means choosing to vote for their job with my money.  I kind of like this math.

And now it has me noticing all the places where I can vote for people and their jobs:  tellers for banking; librarians for book checking-out; cashiers for groceries.  The one I noticed most recently that left me a bit flummoxed was parking:  the parking attendant at Lonsdale Quay has been replaced with a machine and there is no Choose-A-Person option nearby.  But generally, when I can, I'm choosing the person option and I think life is better for it.

I don't imagine it's altogether clear economically what is better though. If the parking guy has moved on to full employment manufacturing planet-friendly goods to be justly distributed across our land, then who am I to complain about walking to a machine to collect my free 2-hour parking ticket?  On the other hand, if that was his only or best option for work and now it has been eliminated for the long-term profitability of the parking corporation, then yuck.

What I mostly notice is that we are being asked to replace our interactions with low-level staff with interactions with machines for the profitability of owners and in turn (one imagines), higher wages for high- and mid-level management.  I guess those jobs are more desirable, but what happens when we have no work for the beginners? for the not-so-ambitious? for the Not-Management-Material-types?

When I vote with my money for those jobs, I also vote for those people and say that providing meaningful work (for surely there is some meaning in making sure I did in fact find everything I needed at the store today?) for everybody is worthwhile. 

So the next time you get to choose between (wo)man or machine, consider the message you're sending up the ladder with your choice:  the easiest way to redistribute wealth is through the employment of the many.


IDEA #10 Response: 
Where have you seen a change from people to machines? Where have you voted with your money for people over profit, even when it was less convenient?

Idea #9: Give to People, Not Causes

I'm a bit conflicted as I write this:  the Occupy Vancouver movement is unravelling a bit.  Sadly, a young woman died in her tent a few days ago.  Protesters bit police officers trying to assist firefighters in extinguishing a fire. Several showed up at a recent mayoral debate and threatened a riot.  In a church.  It's a bit... off-putting.

I suppose I'd prefer to be on the same team as the Winners! the Awesome Ones! the Successful Overcomers! Nope, just me and the losers.  Again.

I considered giving up the blog. I have conceded that it is unlikely that the ramblings and tiny changes of one suburban housewife are going to amount to much.  I have realized that my own commitment to my own change is not all that it ought to be.  I have faced the sad truth that my motivations are not all lovely and light and that I am most likely to adopt adaptations that save me money and/or improve my own sense of awesomeness.  I can't help but think Real Change had a better start than this.

And yet I persevere.  Though the Occupiers flounder, though my will is flawed, though my energy flags... still I want to want more of myself and my world, so I will do one more week.  One More Idea. And maybe next week, another.

This week's idea is inspired in part by the advent of Advent which of course is the advent of The Giving Season.  The time of year when we spend what we do not have to give what other do not need to celebrate what we do not remember.

That may be a bit cynical.

And maybe sometimes a bit true. We may be a tiny bit thoughtless when we give and maybe being a tiny bit more thoughtful will be another tiny step to a better world.

Specifically this:  In earlier comments, Darren posited that giving to some of his preferred causes was a more effective vehicle for change than tenting in the rain.  I wondered in turn if perhaps working to eliminate the need for those worthy causes might not be a better investment of my own time.

If I think this is true, then I must wonder about whether or not how I give might be promoting or hindering change.  In discussing with some friends, this emerged:  if my "cause" is hunger and I can give to $25, do I do more to end hunger by giving (for example) to UGM to feed several a Thanksgiving dinner or by giving to one person in line there to buy their own food?

I could probably argue either.  But I know the part where when I give to a cause, a percentage goes to the people who serve (rightly, as well it ought) but when I give to a person, all of it goes to their need.  Am I willing to forego the tax receipt and the anonymous distance of giving to a cause in order to make what I think may be a more meaningful, lasting difference by giving to a person?  And isn't that kind of the crux: that I would have to know who needed what I have to give? And that by getting to know some people, I might better know what would truly make a difference? Instead of what I think should make a difference?


So this is not being very clear.  I think what I want to think about is if I am serious about redistributing wealth, and particularly my own, then do I want to send it to institutions or to people?  I'm not altogether sure.  But there is something appealing about arranging cleaning services for a mother enduring chemotherapy (a project friends took on last year) instead of giving money to The Big Cancer Agency; to collecting groceries for a local family experiencing loss instead of dropping a few old cans of expired beans in the food bank bin; to giving cash to that guy with the sign instead of charging a donation to The People Who Help, even if he uses it in some way I don't approve of - God knows I hardly approve of all the ways I spend the money I keep to myself.

I don't know exactly how this works, but there is something to knowing people in need that inspires a generosity that can change things.  Giving to an institution means that I never have to know about real need, never have to face the other side of my affluence, the cost of my comfort.  Giving to people means that I have to listen a little more closely, think a lot more thoughtfully, live a little more generously.

I wonder if we'll try this one.

Occupy Me.

IDEA #9 Response:
Do you see any benefit to giving to people instead of to causes? Have you given in a way that changed you? Do you have any ideas about how to give in a way that makes a tiny change?

Idea #8: Rock The Vote

Okay, this is going to be short and sweet.

We are just over two weeks away from municipal elections in my fair town. We are just over one year away from a presidential election in the United States.  In between, there will probably be local and provincial and state elections all over these great lands.  Sadly, most of the time, in most of those places, most people Will. Not. Vote.

They should.



So for Idea #8, I'm suggesting this:  Provincemates, Plan Your Vote.

Find out who's running.
Read a newspaper that tells you who they are.
Better yet, go to an all-candidates meeting and ask them who they are.
On November 19th, phone a friend and arrange a coffee date for AFTER YOU VOTE.

And right this second? right now? Pass this on.

Local government has more to say about our day-to-day experience than any other level of government. How long it takes for the fire department to arrive, whether or not we drink clean water, whether our schools are well-managed and maintained, whether or not our roads get cleared and salted and repaired, whether or not there are bike lanes and sidewalks and wheelchair access and libraries and art and sports and recreation and places for children to play...  all of that and more is decided by our local government.

If we don't vote, if we don't use the opportunities we're given to say We Give A Flying F*ck about how our very own neighbourhoods are shaped, well, that just makes all the rest of this silly. In 2008, not even 18% of my neighbours voted in our local election (check your municipality here).  Really? Not even 2 of 5 people could do it? Sigh.

To be honest, I'm struggling to tie this directly to the Occupy Me gig.  I could stretch and try to make it sound more righteous or game-changing than it probably really is.  I won't.  Just please believe me - people have died fighting for my right as a woman to vote.  People have died believing your right to vote was worth their lives.  I know. It floors me too.

So please plan your vote.  Please plan to vote. And please pass it on.

(This was neither short, nor sweet.  Pass it on anyway. And vote.)

Idea #8 RESPONSE:
Who are you voting for and how did you decide they'd get your vote? Any other ideas for improving voter turnout this year?

Idea #7: It Is Better to Give And Receive

You could get this card from here I think.

It is so easy for me to forget my affluence.  Especially this week after switching to cash.  Counting out exact change at the till made me feel poor.  I can't really explain it, but I wanted to say something like, "I could charge this whole store if I wanted! I just don't want to...." Why does cash at a grocery store feel like food stamps to me?  Weird, right?

Anyway, part of the Occupy Me gig is an effort to remember and live in my affluence as way of undermining the Big Booming Voice that says "STILL NOT ENOUGH...!!"  Tonight, as young kids knock on my door and demand free candy and I keep having more to give away, I'm enjoying the feeling of having more than enough and I think there's a lesson there.  Again.

It's is a lesson I've learned so many times, but apparently don't retain: giving things away makes me feel like I have more than enough. Every. Time.

I figure that that big bad guy, Corporate Guy Out There, spends all of his time crafting ways to make me feel like I don't have quite enough, and thus pushing me to consume.  Consume what I can not afford, what I do not need, what does great harm in its very manufacture and distribution.  And so often, I'm falling for it. Over and over, I'm all like, "Yeah, you're right! I do need that!" Moron.

Giving away is a great big F*%k You to Corporate Guy Out There.  In one fell swoop, it is my statement that I have more than enough and that the receiver can get what they need without buying into the system.  So amazing, right?

Now in case you missed it, cause I'm subtle like that, here's the tricky bit:  to make this work, we all need to not only give what we have away, but receive what is freely given.  The first half of the equation is so awesome because we get to feel our affluence and the warm fuzzies of being a provider.  The second half? Not so much.  Buying what we need is kind of empowering: "I'm captain of my own ship! Tally Ho!"  Being given what we need, for free? Kind of like cash at the grocery store for me.  It is an admission of my own finite resources, of my own need for the generosity of others to sometimes step in and provide what I can not, for whatever reason. 

That is exactly where the power of this one lives: when we live in the ebb and flow of giving and receiving to and from our neighbours (the people we run into who need what we have to give, and have to give what we need), the structures that have been built to get us to Buy More! Have More! Get More! become useless and unnecessary. It's magic. 

And so, Idea #7 is a two-pronged one:  I will start to listen more carefully for the knocking at my door, when my neighbours arrive and ask for what I have to give.  And equally, I will make known my need and receive what is offered, believing that both actions undermine a system that I believe to have done us all great harm by convincing us that we are our own providers.

Occupy Me.


IDEA #7 Response:
What have you given that reminded you of your own abundance? When have you last received something you would have preferred to have provided for your own self?

Links To Good II

I like how many people like to fix things.  I like that I know them, espcially the ones with sewing machines, since I am sew-stupid when it comes to the repair and life-lengthening of fabric goods.  I got two great links for this:

From Brian: Learn the 4th R, Repair
From Ryan, a fixer of many things: iFixit

I also like that many people have found their own end-runs around unfairness.  I will note that these were all American examples, and that it is easy to point at the US and say that they're so much worse than we are and thus excuse ourselves from action, but Walmart is here and lots of other large retailers who treat their employees poorly in order to maximize profits for the already-rich-people who own them.

From Laura:  The Moral Undergroud

And then this video, which was emailed to me and then posted on my wall, and then posted all over facebook. So simple, so easy, and right up my "I'm not tenting with 2 preschoolers" lane...

From Mary: Keep Wall Street Occupied

And then a link to a holiday destination that passed one reader's Good For You, Good For Me evaluation - fair wage, fair work, decency of all sorts.

From MK:  Point-no-Point Resort