A blank page.
Every Black Friday, I wake up early to write. It’s tradition for me now. Here are some of the articles I have written on Black Friday morning:
- 35 Gifts Your Children Will Never Forget
- Holiday Shopping. We Can Do Better.
- All the Things You Don’t Need for a Perfect Holiday
Sitting down to write on Black Friday is now one of my favorite holiday traditions.
I never begin the day with an agenda and I have no predetermined topic in mind. Yesterday was Thanksgiving in America—a day for family and gratitude. The juxtaposition of Thanksgiving on Thursday and Black Friday immediately following speaks volumes about our culture. And I try to let the morning quietly speak to me.
So here I sit, with nothing but a blank page in front of me.
My writing tradition stems from my previous ritual of getting up early on Black Friday for shopping. I used to thoroughly enjoy the hunt—thumbing through Black Friday ads on Thanksgiving morning, mapping out stores and deals later that evening. I don’t ever recall getting up early on Black Friday to purchase Christmas gifts for loved ones, only to rush out and purchase something for myself—a television, a computer, a video game system. I had a plan, something I thought I wanted, and an alarm clock to wake me up.
I discovered minimalism in May of 2008. And over the course of the last nine years, my view on Black Friday has changed significantly. Not that purchasing discounted gifts for others is wrong—I’m certainly not against the entire notion of gift giving.
But Black Friday has begun to represent something else in our society. It is now a celebration of unbridled consumerism. Only in America do we wait in line and push past others for sale items one day after giving thanks for everything we already have.
And the things we buy on Black Friday are, almost by definition, things we don’t need. To make matters worse, the cultural expectation of spending during the holiday season is negatively impacting us in significant ways—24% of holiday shoppers say they overspent their holiday budget last year and 27% admit to not making a budget at all.
With that as the backdrop, quietly reflecting and taking time to write on Black Friday has become my ritual. If I can wake up early just to rush out for the purpose of buying something I don’t need, certainly I can wake up early to create something good to bring into the world.
If I can wake up early to consume, surely I can wake up early to create.
And so now, in the quiet hours of the morning while the rest of my family sleeps, I sit here with a cup of coffee staring at a blank computer screen.
An empty page.
An empty canvas on which I can write or create anything I desire.
And on this empty page, I can’t help but notice a metaphor for life.
Many, you see, will rush out this weekend to accumulate more and more physical possessions, filling their lives and their homes with more and more stuff. They will spend time and energy and money to accumulate things they don’t need. In so doing, they will write on the pages of their lives—a larger television, a new Amazon Echo, that stand-up mixer they always wanted, or the newest Barbie Dreamhouse for their child.
But me? I kinda like having a blank page in front of me.
Because a blank page represents possibility. A blank page allows me to write anything I want on it.
For this one day, it means I can cook pancakes for my kids when they wake up, or I can enjoy a cup of coffee with my wife. Because I am not rushing out to buy whatever product my local retailer has decided to discount today, I have time to write, create, and do work that I love. This afternoon, I may read a book or go hiking with my family after warm turkey sandwiches for lunch.
And those are just the opportunities that come to my mind. Who knows what my kids will decide would be fun for us to do today?
But no matter what they choose, I’ll be ready.
Because my Black Friday is an empty page and I can write anything I want on it.
This is what happens when we reject the empty notion of excessive consumerism: Our lives fall back under our own control. We get to write our own story.
We are freed to pursue fulfillment and meaning and happiness wherever we choose.
Chris Darley-Bentley says
I really enjoyed this article although in Australia we don’t celebrate Black Friday? Or do we? We have been bombarded with advertisements & sales. I am at the beginning of my minimalist journey & doing ok so far. I will see how I go @ Christmas. Have resisted the temptation of buying up lots of grocery items on sale – only to store in our pantry- often the sale comes again when I actually need them.
Laura says
It’s funny, I can’t believe I never made the connection about the gross irony of Thanksgiving and Black Friday occurring back to back. Thank you for pointing that out. Today we spent the morning with friends at a park with our kids, and I wouldn’t imagine trading that in for the chaos and ugliness of Black Friday shopping. Planning on taking one more step in my minimalism journey tonight by broaching the subject of opting out of the Christmas gift exchange with my family. Fingers crossed!
K. D. says
Good luck, Laura. I’m trying to find the right wording to broach the subject with our far-flung family! I think it’s doubly hard to find the right gifts for relatives you rarely see. The pressure of trying to find the “right” gift makes me actually dread the holidays. First of all, there’s the REAL Reason for the Season, who is the best gift. Secondly, all I really want to do is get together when we can and just enjoy one another’s company. I wouldn’t care if I never got another gift again (well, maybe family pictures once in a while), so I hope I can express this without all of them thinking I’m “cheap” or lazy or something. Joshua has inspiring ideas, for sure.
Sharon says
I went online and bought a Christmas gift for my daughter today but that was the extent of my Black Friday shopping. Here in Canada, Black Friday didn’t even exist 10 years ago. I drove past our mall today (I live in a smaller city and we have one large shopping mall) and the parking lot was packed. I couldn’t believe how big it’s become here. We used to see that on Boxing Day, the day after Christmas. Which was always a strange custom too, after spending Christmas day with family opening gifts, the last thing I wanted to do was to go out for more shopping the day after. I imagine that’s what some Americans feel like after Thanksgiving Day spent with family. I still think though, if it was a purchase you were planning on making beforehand, and you can save some $ on Black Friday, then that’s better than paying full price the next day. Though I realize some stores may raise prices weeks before and then pretend to discount them for the promotion.
MelD says
May I just clarify that Boxing Day in England used to be a holiday, not a shopping day. The term came from the fact that people would give a box of some useful or tasty gift to those who did them service – the postman, milkman, coal man etc. or in villages where there was a “big” house, to the servants and villagers… It had nothing to do with buying anything in boxes originally!!
In central Europe, December 26th (St. Steven’s Day, even for the non-religious) is still a holiday – shops close early on the 24th, when Christmas is celebrated, and do not reopen until the 27th December, or the next working day to it. (We still have the concept of stores being closed on Sundays, except for special permission (only recently introduced) of “short” 4-8 hour opening hours, usually 11-4 on the 4 Sundays preceding Christmas. I really hope it gets no worse than this, we can already shop 24/7 online :O)
Sarah Lake says
Thanks so much for this article. Like a previous commentator, I find it ironic and disappointing, but not surprising, that here in Europe, we’ve fully embraced Black Friday and Cyber Monday but not Thanksgiving.
Feeling gratitude has a proven benefit to our wellbeing, and another occasion to spend time with family is so desirable. Thanksgiving would be a welcome addition to our culture for everyone except turkeys.
Instead we have Black Friday, which is only about greed, perceived value and consuming. If we don’t acquire enough then we also have the full weekend to shop, shop, shop.
As my weekend begins, I want to enjoy a quiet two days of time with family, food, exercise and reading. Shopping will not get a look in, I’m afraid.
Julie says
This is wonderfully written. I am in the beginning stages of simplifying my life. This morning, black Friday, my daughter and i headed out for a wonderful time for just the two of us. We had a list and a budget and shopped for other people in the family plus a local 8 year old boy who asked for clothes while his friends and classmates were asking for toys. It wad a good morning and i appreciated being able to save money while buying necessary things (mostly clothes) for others.
Bethany says
It is especially sad that so many people that work retail have to work on Thanksgiving because Black Friday now starts on Thursday.
Liz says
I spent Black Friday in my basement getting of things purchased that are never used. Most of it I am donating and some recycling. Feels so much better than being out at the stores adding to the clutter. Thank you for your writing that has started me on this minimalist path.
J.E. Williams says
I had an amazing day with family – a house full of almost 40 people. I live by one of the largest malls in the state and when I arrived home last night, I drove by the mall and was appalled to see EVERY parking spot was filled, buses were shuttling people in and there were lines two blocks long outside the entrance of some of the stores. I just shook my head and thought, this is happening the exact same week I just dropped off bars of soap at a homeless shelter because many people don’t even have access to basic needs items. The clients in the front lobby had been so excited!
It’s unfortunate that people can’t even wait a full 24 hours to go on a huge shopping spree. Please rethink priorities and spend more time on relationships and supporting one another instead of accumulating stuff.
m says
Thank you! Well said. Simple. True.
Em says
I’ve always liked simplicity and after a nice evening of family gathering, was looking to get inspiration, found it in your pages…thank you..it’s an inspiring read, the day after – moments of gratitude..for loved ones…health…a healing and forgiving heart..small meaningful chats…little moments with children…shared warm and genuine intentions.