Flipping the Script on Consumption:

It is time to break free from mindless consumption! No longer can we excuse this behavior. If anything our current reality of this Pandemic has made it very clear: OUR EXCESSIVE Life of greed and constant want at the expense of the earth, driven by greed and capitalism IS OVER!

Break free from consumer culture and mindless consumption habits.

Currently the global apparel industry produces 150 billion items of clothing a year for the 7.7 billion humans on earth. During the last 15 years the amount of clothing produced has been on a constant and consistent rise and until the corona virus crisis it promised to grow exponentially. Last year alone the global apparel industry contributed 3% of the global economy, amounting to 2. 5 trillions dollars in profit. This crazy growth in 2019 is despite the growing increase in awareness that this industry is one of the Earth's top 5 polluters. This industry is responsible for approximately 8% of the global carbon footprint from raw material creation or growing of fibres all the way to the pair of jeans or that must have blouse you are wearing right now! Yet, despite knowing these alarming facts and despite the rise in the second hand, vintage clothing markets, rising clothing swaps,  models of clothing rentals and  ethical and sustainable fashion brands… we are still seeing this maddening growth of the industry.

So we ask:

Why can’t we stop ourselves from always needing that one more new thing? How can we hear these alarming statistics, experience one climate catastrophe after another, yet not truly make the changes we need?

Its simple! It’s because we feel disconnected and we are disconnected. 

We as a society are drowned by the noises of marketing, advertising, social media influencers and just our capitalist society at large telling us we are not enough unless we have the next new thing.

We have for so long been programmed to believe that we are what we wear, what we look like and that we are valued for our bodies. We have collectively chosen to believe these things are true. As a society we believe that our self worth is measured not simply by our hearts, spirits, inner wisdom and achievements but instead by the way we look. Our fear of judgment has kept us trapped in this vicious cycle dismissing our sense of self worth to a point where many of us believe that our successes are only truly worthy if they come packaged in the perfect socially acceptable, beauty narrative. When we add the bombardment of fit bodies, pretty faces and perfect outfits being rewarded with attention and fame whilst  ‘imperfections’ such as being a different body shape, having scars or ‘fashion fails’ gets ridiculed, the result is that women today are feeling constant judgment and shame about themselves. In fact we are so awful and so bad that we are often completely ashamed of ourselves. Ashamed that we don’t have a  body like those venerated influencers on social media and ashamed because we don’t fit the current beauty narrative that says flawless skin is best.

So ashamed have we become,so guilty do we feel that we just block out any notion that this may be a trap and we disregard that voice deep inside of each of us that is trying to be heard that meekly says: you are beautiful, you are intelligent, your stripes and wrinkles are your stamps of your journey in this life.

That voice is silenced and totally drowned out by the screaming of consumerism rhetoric that does not want you to feel  and hear your truth, or feel and hear your own pain and sadness. No because if you do, then you will know that your pain and your body are all your tools for a greater life, one that is connected to all other life.

These experiences are encouraging us all to evolve to be part of a totally thriving system where humans, plants and animals all thrive together.

In this space we are conscious and we are in our authentic power to lead, to build, and to create with a sacred connection. From this space, we would be in a society for right now. We would all be working very hard together to fix the current system of our world and not to be simply finding other forms of escape that don’t meet our needs or fix our problems. For example shopping organic, ethical and sustainable brands or shopping secondhand or vintage.

Consumerism

Consumerism’s Job is to convince you that you can buy yourself out of life’s real journey.

by simply getting that one more new pair of sexy jeans that make your butt look smaller or that push up bra that makes your partner find you more desirable because you look like your 25 year old self and not the self with 3 kids and a successful career NO!!!

Consumption

Consumption is a facade of fake needs.

It creates a distraction. It is a distraction and it numbs us. It is this numbness that keeps us from becoming- from rising beyond our jobs, from understanding that all of life’s highs and lows are part of why we are here and that successes and pains are all part of lessons we are meant to learn. These are all things happening to us so that we may grow and so that we as humans can live our truest lives.

So you see, the maddening of this ongoing consumer culture trap has you spinning and rolling and so whilst the brain understands that the world is dying and the animals are suffering and that millions of workers live in poverty making the clothes that we ‘MUST HAVE’, we don’t really connect because we are not truly connected to ourselves. The same self that is made up of the same particles that the rest of the earth is made up off.

We don’t feel this innate connection, because we are too busy being distracted by living a life of mirrors.

So here is the thing, we are in this situation where we know the facts, yet those facts are not good enough to get us to make radical shifts in our lives.

Instead, in most cases these days, it is moving us towards small transformations in the form of shopping second hand, buying fair, not dieting necessarily  but following ‘wellness routines’ (which is really just diet culture  repackaged), or dressing in your own style but within the framework of wearing what best suits your shape and dressing in only colors that supposedly best suit your complexion and that help hide your imperfections… and so on. Basically, we are shifting towards this pseudo mindful behavior. We now only buy  certain foods, we do yoga and pilates at special clubs, in special gym gear and we wear sustainable brands. Looks to me like we have simply shifted what we shop for but we still need to shop these new lifestyles. Why? Because we still need to validate ourselves through things.

So here is what I, Karishma Kelsey, realised through many years of self work:

the only way to break free from this addiction of mindless consumption is by breaking free from this beauty narrative and to reclaim our sense of deep true connection to who we truly are beyond the voice in our head, beyond our bodies.. to that little voice that always supports us . To our true authentic self or soul.

What better way for you to break free from those blocks than through the creative process of making art… As a woman who has played in this fake world for 25 years, dressing women from all walks of life and cultural backgrounds and who has also used creativity to heal from my own self sabotaging abusive relationships and behaviors, I can say with conviction that creative action is a magical process of bringing up our shit and then releasing it through simple creative action. It’s the best therapy! The best listener and one of the most transformative pathways to self love and spiritual connection to self. This is where we truly feel that we are whole and limitless.  

Now hang on, before you say “YOU can’t… draw, paint, design, etc.” 

I will say: you don’t need to… Creativity is not about being an artist or about doing things well, it is about showing up to things you love with an openness and letting the magic take over. All you need to do is embrace the making of art with the clothes on your back and the shoes on your feet and let the journey begin.