Who gets to decided you can’t put peanuts in Chocolate chip cookies? Who gets to decided a Kate Spade bag is better than a Liz Claiborne bag? Who gets to decided that Jimmy Choo’s are better than Nine West? Who gets to decided staying home is better than working or vice versa? Who gets to decided an ivy league education is better than a state school education?
These are the age old questions of value. I have done a great deal of thinking about what is imporant in life and why I think it is important. These thoughts have led me to then examine society as a whole and what we value and how arbitrary these values really are. The values that are put upon materials items are subjective. It is amazing to me that I can get a real all leather bag for relatively inexpensive, but if I want a vinyl or just plain non-leather bag with some letter plastered all over them I am expected to pay hundreds of dollars–only because people have decided that someone’s name is more valuable than someone else’s. It is quite laughable actually. How the media and popular culture have us all spending our hard earned money one something that is really insignificant. We work hard to buy things that don’t really matter and aren’t really worth what we pay for them. The value is completely arbitrary. The only things that really matter and have value in our lives and are worth time and effort are our relationships. Those are the things that we will carry with us forever. Those are the items that have a value more than a dollar amount could possibly measure. I have to remind myself of that as I dream of all the material and insignificant things that would so not really make my life any better but the marketers say I gotta have…
Where do you place your value?
Embracing Imperfection 
I place value on the times in my life where I’m forced to be a creative problem solver. Case in point–our most recent remodelling project. Since we bought our house and began remodelling it 5 years ago, we’ve had varying degrees of cash to do the job–there were a couple years when I was still in school and we were broke, there was the first year my business was open when we were broke, there were some really good years before the munchkin and adoption expenses (all paid TWICE, mind you) came along. Now, we’re still doing well, but sapped of the time we once had to do everything ourselves, so we’ve been forced to hire contractors. And they’re expensive. So I find myself tidying up the last project of our home remodel (every surface, inside and out) before Bryan’s fam arrives for Thanksgiving, and we’re broke again :). I’ve been forced to think of creative ways to make end tables out of leftover logs, stretch the paint we have left and turn some accessories that won’t work in there into something that will with a couple cans of old spraypaint. I haven’t felt so exhillerated about decorating in a long time. But, if money weren’t tight right now, I’d just donate the stuff I don’t like and go buy new things, and not get half the satisfaction.
Danielle
(who once remodelled all of her kitchen cabinets for $5)
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My values are placed heavies on my kids and hubby and then family and friends too. But as for what I value in the material world…comfort and quality are foremost. The designer name…nada!
Becky
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I’m such an outlet and sale shopper that I think I’d fall over if I carried a real designer bag.
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