There are a lot of dogs that are rushed to the local veterinary hospital across the country every day. Some of them are Great Danes who seem miserable and are even vomiting. All such future cases will now serve only to remind vets of the one in Portland, Oregon last February. This particular canine was rushed into surgery after x-rays revealed foreign substances in his great stomach. Apparently there were quite a few of them discovered. Dr. Ashley Magee from DoveLee Emergency Hospital carefully removed each one from the entrails of the anesthetized dog. They were identified as socks. Yes. Socks. All forty three and one-half of them. It is believed that only a few of them were a matching set. As shocking as this news might be, my brain is the kind that is sucked into a singular target. I am not wondering why this canine did not become less enamored with this ritual mastication after sock number thirteen. I am not locked into a self-debate as to why this beast preferred socks to the regular beef and barley faire. I am not considering what caused these owners to stop feeding fido? No. I am chewing on something else. I am trying to resolve what happened to the other half of sock number 44! Were the first forty three from Hanes and number forty-four just tasted “funny” because it was from Nike? Did Mr. Great Dane (because Ms. Great Dane just would have “known”, that’s why) empty every sock in the forty-three capacity drawer of his mistress and one bite from the first from the bin of his master just was appalling?
Then I swivel the direction of the lens of logic toward humans. In what ways are we often listless and miserable? Why are we often found rushing to bars, support groups or churches trying to regurgitate our indigestibles? I believe it is because we spend too little time in contemplation and way too much time consuming. I know that stimulating the economy by emptying our wallet at the shopping mall for things that we “need” is a basic tenet of capitalism. I know that stimulating the economy by "swiping card" is at the register of the local market keeps our neighbors employed and the family amply supplied. I simply propose that we think about each option more than we do. “Is this item really good for me?” is a question that just needs more quality time. You have probably heard that one should never shop at the grocery store when one is hungry. Should that principle apply to the purchase of apparel? I regret that the limited space in stores means the removal of chairs or benches. The modern consumer needs to “sit a spell” as some southerners say it. Time in contemplation of a purchase has probable contributed to the increase in online sales when consumers consider their options from the comfort of their own couch or dining room table.
I was enjoying conventional shopping in a “brick and mortar” store with one of my nieces at an “outlet” shopping complex. I told her my secret strategy when enjoying the process of shopping.
“Keowna”, I said as she looked up to me awaiting my golden pearl of wisdom. “I play a game with myself when I shop that I am always sure to win,” I postulated. “What’s that?” she responded. “When I see something that I think that I really might want to buy, I set it back on the rack
or in the stack. Then I leave the store - or at least that section of the market. I will only return to buy it if I have thought about it while visiting another store.” She nodded politely. I felt so wise even knowing that she was properly underwhelmed.
Whatever your strategy is while shopping, consider having one that takes its time. It should be the same way with ideas. According to author David Brooks in The Social Animal, over 92% of Americans vote in consistency with the political affiliation of their parents. Is this tradition or coincidence? Think about it. Let’s resolve to make every decision one that is carefully considered or it will be something that was just pulled out of the bottom drawer. – Kevin