A Different Kind of Green

I was watching one of my favorite shows, Gossip Girl, last night, and about halfway through--when one of the main characters, a heretofore innocent fourteen year-old girl, steals a custom-made Valentino gown so she can exchange it for a new designer dress to wear out with her "friends"--I decided that I am never having children. Okay, maybe that's a little extreme. I am a thirty two year-old woman, and occasionally, the hormones get to me. And granted, it's a television show. But still, the pressure--to conform, to aquire, to consume--not just in the adolescent years, but beyond, has reached a new extreme.

In my day, Keds and Guess jeans were all the rage--something easily accessible with a bit of babysitting money. Today, the competition starts in pre-school, and the race for status and prestige just escalates from there.

And yes, I love my designer jeans as much as the next girl, but these days, I work for them. I understand them as a luxury. And honestly, one of my favorite pairs cost just $17.99 at Old Navy.

And while it shouldn't be about the cost or the label, it would be hypocritical of me to say those things don't matter to me, because they do. But what I am concerned about is how much this envy, this desire to accumulate and acquire things that have no consequential value, has consumed so much of my life thus far. And if I--a well-educated, socially aware, civically minded and occasionally practical woman in her 30's--am struggling so hard to overcome my addiction to consumer culture, how much more challenging will it be for my children, especially in a city like Atlanta, where million dollar homes, luxury SUVs and designer clothes seem almost the norm?

How can I start to place more value on things that will have a lasting impact on those around me? Instead of envying those who have accumulated the most, why not admire those who give the most? Like my TNT friends, who brave rain, snow, tornados and Atlanta summers to run for those who can't. Or those rare Atlantans who walk or bike or take public transportation to work and make the air a little bit cleaner not only for me, but for the thousands of asthmatics in this city, many of whom are children without access to quality health care. Or my friend Christy, who celebrated her 30th birthday by hosting a fundraiser for the Atlanta Children's Shelter--simply because she could.

And even as I wonder how I will pay my rent next month, on this Earth Day, I hope my next thoughts of green will not be those of envy, but of how I can share my earthly blessings with others.

"Every good and perfect gift is from above."
-James 1:17