The Buy Nothing, Get Everything Plan by Liesl Clark & Rebecca Rockefeller

Author:Liesl Clark & Rebecca Rockefeller
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Atria Books
Published: 2020-04-14T00:00:00+00:00

LIESL’S TABOO DRESS

I was the youngest in a four-kid family, and everything that was mine once belonged to my siblings. I rarely had a thing of my own that hadn’t already been played with or worn. What was mine was really theirs by default, and the things that were theirs—in true sibling style—I was often forbidden to touch.

As a teenager, I coveted my older sister’s pink flapper-style polka-dot dress. I simply loved that dress, which she rarely wore. One summer day, when she was out of town, I sneaked into her closet and “borrowed” the dress to go out with friends. Despite feeling somehow perfect in that dress, imagining myself to be smart and beautiful like my big sister, I was so afraid of being caught that the pure joy of wearing it was taken away. I managed to put a minuscule stain on the dress that I thought could never be detected. A month later, from the tone of her voice as she came into my room with the dress clenched in her hands, I knew immediately what she had discovered. I don’t think I had ever done anything so rotten to her. At the time, it seemed like she’d never forgive me.

That experience forever changed my relationship with stuff. I let go of my attachment to things. I didn’t fully understand why, but it felt freeing. I gave and loaned things to others wholeheartedly and established strong bonds with friends who liked to trade and share what we had. I went so far as to loan out my most precious things, exploring the taut boundaries between holding on and letting go, and understood implicitly that the things I shared might never come back. My sister called this behavior irresponsible, and accused me of not taking care of my things. She was partly right. I was transfixed by the pleasure I experienced in sharing, letting go, and seeing what would happen in my relationships as a result.

Were they “my” things, or things to enjoy and connect me to others, even if I might lose the things in the end? As I was the youngest sibling, my things were never really mine to begin with, so I never felt the need to hold on to them. Giving away the few things that were mine—like a set of precious earrings I had purchased during a summer on Corsica or handmade dresses I’d sewn myself—was hard to do at first, until I let go of the thing itself and appreciated how happy my friend felt wearing them. There were so many earrings in the world. I could always make another dress. I learned that the more I gave away, the more I wanted to give away. The good feelings were addictive. I practiced taking all the power out of owning and coveting things. having seen the alienation and separation that can come with ownership. Coveting and hoarding tendencies made me anxious and propelled me to give all the more.

Thirty-odd years later, my experiment continues.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.