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.
Judy says
I start my Christmas shopping in October and little by little I make it a goal to have everything bought and wrapped by Thanksgiving! It works for me. So now I have no reason to fight the crowds and I can put up my tree and just rejoice in the season :)
Miguel Sousa says
This year I decided not to participate on Black Friday. Here is why. I didn’t need anything! More and more I coming to the conclusion, that if I want something… something I really need, i go to the store and buy it. Sure it will be probably at full price. I won’t take advantage of good deals sometimes Black Friday and sales have, but if I buy less stuff, I have more money for expensive and meaningful stuff that I know the investment I made is worth it.
Jaye Lacerte says
Well my Black Fridays may be a new twist on shopping. That is the day I charity shopp for the yearly Xmas toy and coat drive run by Salvation Army that I have long participated in. I can get much more for my donation dollars, especially kids coats, and I no longer have little kids so it’s my only excuse to check out the toy aisle. But I don’t go crazy, or trample anyone. I do however, share with as many people as possible, what I am doing. Maybe it will catch on. One year the manager at Target told me I was the only one he’d met not shopping for greedy reasons, and gave me an extra ten per cent off. It stretched my donation dollars even further :)
I took an old bad habit, and made it a new way to be more generous :)
Rosie says
I’m a minimalist. I wait all year to buy/replace socks for the family for half-price on Black Friday after avoiding buying them the rest of the year. Does it change anything if you strictly limit purchases for most of the rest of the year and use Black Friday as a great sale to stock up on some essentials? Or am I just supporting the awful consumerist system?
Leslie says
I saw an ad for a local jewelry store on Wednesday, it said that their store would be closed on the day after Thanksgiving so that their employees could enjoy time with their families. They renamed the day after Thanksgiving “Family Friday.” My husband and I liked that so much that we stopped saying Black Friday and started saying Family Friday. We spent the day hanging Christmas lights, putting up our Christmas tree, playing games and watching “How the Grinch stole Christmas.” Hopefully our children will absorb the truth that the Grinch learned, Christmas doesn’t come wrapped in packages with pretty bows because it is about something deeper and more meaningful that we cannot buy with any amount of money.
Cat says
Another great post! I have always thought it was contradicting that Thanksgiving, a day of thanks and gratitude, is followed by Black Friday (nothing wrong with sales), a day that people think it is ok to fight someone for an item. Sadly, this is what America is…materialism. Items.
Cat
CHRIS says
I have done my best to avoid Black Friday, mainly because I am usually done before Thanksgiving. This year while we were on our way to my cousins for a Friday Thanksgiving Celebration, we stopped at a store not found in our area. The checkout lines were all the way to the back of the store. While in line, we made friends. We shared wisdom for their upcoming trip, and by the time we checked out we laughed and said we should get together for Christmas. Anytime a new friend is made it is worth the effort.
Robert says
I enjoy your posts. This one is very interesting, as I notice your empty page is not empty anymore. You filled it with words. Words of wisdom. I have been told that nature abhors a vacuum… even if it was a blank page – it was filled. It is only with self-discipline and purpose can we avoid the constant need to fill up things as nature insists. I stop here, intentionally… to leave the text box partially empty.
laura ann says
Some of us think in my circle, that black Fridays are for bottom feeders, the types that are materialistic, have lots of debt, never get enough, shallow losers, and zero desire to be with family or friends. No one in their right mind desires to be in crowded stores or parking lots either.
Curtis says
Thank you Josh for a nice post. The older I get the more I wonder why many have decided to worship “things” instead of the creator.
Have a wonderful day with your family.