Try Living Like a Snail

Most people now recognise that the modern world is addicted to consumption. We are also aware that our finite planet cannot sustain our consumerist habits. But our economy relies on the making and selling of goods, and property has become our means of self-presentation and identification. To break consumerist habits means to live on the edge of society.

But when you’re living out of a backpack, buying becomes impossible. You’ve already stuffed your bag with your favourite and most space-efficient clothes, a book or two to be exchanged along the way, and if you’re Hayley, an over-sized monkey toy for sentimental reasons. A purchase becomes a carefully considered decision, rather than a fleeting nod to capitalism; it is a problem, as well as a means to solve a problem. And most significantly, when possessions are undesirable, they also become unimportant. When you can’t change your look from day to day, you realise that the clothes on your back don’t stand for the thoughts in your head.

In the Western world, we are characters in the liberal story – freedom in terms of individuals, the market, and communities. This means buying luxuries as well as necessities, and then seeing a cycle of wants becoming needs. But now people also see purchases as solutions to problems they cannot solve – in fact, those problems caused by the very nature of competitive individualism; the need to keep up with the latest trends and technologies. Phrases such as ‘retail therapy’ allude to this belief in the connection between buying and mental well-being. But spending unnecessary money is like eating a whole tub of Ben and Jerry’s after a break-up: we expect it to comfort us in some self-pitying way, but in fact it leaves us feeling lethargic and dissatisfied.

What feels liberating is to be unable to purchase. In the last 6 weeks, we have gained two possessions: a pair of walking boots and a fleece – both necessary for our time in Abel Tasman, even if only for comfort’s sake*. Our money is spent on food and experiences (our current boss would argue that these are one and the same – hi Alan). And in fact, most of our experiences, at least while living in Greymouth, have been free – walking in the bush or on the beach, hunting for greenstone (unsuccessfully), or watching an amazing sunset. It is lovely to fill your home with little treasures, or wear something nice for a special occasion. But let’s have things that will still be treasures in a year’s time.

*I’ve also bought a couple of books but they count as an experience… ‘Living as a Moon’ by Owen Marshall (short stories), and ‘The Luminaries’ by Eleanor Catton. This novel is set in Hokitika (a West Coast town 30km down from Greymouth) during the gold rush. Both amazing but would recommend ‘The Luminaries’ in particular – soon to be made into a TV series (BBC)!