Materialism and why my brother is awesome

My brother is getting married soon, and people have begun to ask me where he and his fiance are registered. My answer is that they're not registered and they don't want presents. This results in a look (or, in most cases, text) indicating confusion, annoyance, and disbelief.

Instead of responding to me with an "oh, okay," everyone comes back with more questions. "What about money?" "Do you know what they want?" "Seriously, what should I buy them?"

It's really difficult for people to:

1. Believe that someone actually doesn't want presents,
2. Resist the idea of bringing presents, and
   
3. Feel okay about stepping foot into a reception hall empty-handed.

And I don't like it.

My brother is one of the coolest people on the planet. There are many reasons for that, and one is that he's not greedy or materialistic. In fact, he's kind of a minimalist. It's a quality that should be admired and emulated. It shouldn't cause confusion.

Unfortunately, because of the government, the free market, and the billions spent on advertising, we're all under the false impression that we need things in order to be happy. When we want to say "Happy anniversary," we do it with flowers, cards, stuffed bears, or balloons. When we want to remember a special event, we have to buy the t-shirt. We keep clothes that don't even fit us because we have an emotional attachment to them. An emotional attachment to threads sewn together. What are we thinking?

Memories are in our minds. We can keep them forever, and we don't need a t-shirt to do so.

And weddings? They are happy occasions because they allow us to come together with friends and family and celebrate the people we love. ...Not because we get free stuff.

Let's create new traditions, of which love and respect and kindness and selflessness are the themes. This is my challenge to you and to myself.

Relevant Links:

• The Church of Life After Shopping
• Buy Nothing Day
• Mnmlist.com