what if shopping has replaced community?

I wondered something as I went to the mall with my family for the first time in a few years. We all went together this Saturday and walked around-- and we ended up without making a single purchase fortunately.

Since then, I've wondered if we believe, somewhere inside, that something outside, something we can purchase is going to fill up that empty spot. Something shinny and new will make us shinny and new. As if the activity of shopping makes us more not less "human".

As social creatures we are hoping for connection. Not just hoping--we must have it. We were made for it. The sales adverts reach out to us, they offer something alluring. They offer prestige, better associations, sex appeal, and other things. They make promises.

On Saturday, each store had ceiling to floor banners, window graphic, manikins, decor, monitors, or music to seduce, or combination thereof. Business is business after all. It's a pseudo-social activity if you think about it. You can be alone and feel like you've been with others. Why should we bother sitting down and connecting with people when we can just shop? We can bargain hunt and we can pretend we aren't trying to numb something.

Or we can be face-to-face for a while and start being real.

Community starts with admitting what idols really are, and where they turn up. Culture is bent to push the NEED to consume (acquire goods), but the this is a false assumption. The true need is to connect in loving and honest ways, and been known and truly loved.