This holiday season, I’ve received a number of good wishes from some very kind supporters, who have sent their hopes that this year will be better than the last. And while I treasure every kind word, I have no hopes for the new year ahead.  It’s not that I’m hopeless, that is to say, I am not despairing. It’s more of an acceptance, an openness towards life and the unknown.  My readers who have been with me for more than a year will know that I had big plans for this year.  I thought I was making decisions that were going to bring positive changes to my life.  I thought that I was being proactive in seeking out my own happiness.  And I was.  But the truth is, we really don’t know what will bring us happiness and what will bring us pain.

In “When things fall apart” (which is, by the way, a great book, regardless if you are going through a tragedy or not), Pema Chodren wrote:

When we think that something is going to bring us pleasure, we don’t know what’s really going to happen.  When we think something is going to give us misery, we don’t know.  Letting there be room for not knowing is the most important thing of all.  We try to do what we think is going to help.  But we don’t know.  We never know if we’re going to fall flat or sit up tall.  When there’s a big disappointment, we don’t know if that’s the end of the story.  It may be just the beginning of a great adventure.

Whatever happens this year, this we can guarantee: some things will happen that we will define as painful and bad. Other things we will define as joyful and good.  Life will unfold, opportunities will arise, we will make choices.  Few will yield exactly what we expect.

So I’m not really wishing for a happier year ahead.  I’m not wishing to do better, or be better, or for very much at all.  I’m simply wishing just to be.

I’ve been thinking a little bit lately about how much creativity I employed in my teenage fashions.  When I was a teenager I dressed in very unconventional ways.  First it was the grunge phase, inspired by Kurt Cobain.  Thrift stores and vintage consignment stores were my favourite places to find cardigan sweaters, velour shirts, torn jeans and anything strange or interesting.  Quickly this morphed into a punk phase, which sparked tremendous creativity on my part.  I never, ever, shopped at malls or traditional clothing stores.  Instead, I relied on thrift stores, hardware stores, pet stores, army surplus stores, flea markets, costume stores, and dollarstores.  Here’s what I would buy:

Thrift stores: My favourite was the discount thrift store warehouse, that charged $1 for every garbage bag you could fill with clothes.  These were the items that had been cast off from all other thrift stores.  Luckily, what was considered unfashionable by most people was perfect for a 15 year old punk.  I still remember the fake silk, avocado green, ruffled shirt my sister found.  We both thought it was David Bowie-like and fabulous for 5 cents.  Tacky old mens’ vests were perfect for decorating with patches and buttons.  Another great find was a canary yellow, big puffy Cindy Lauper-esque skirt and and old pair of police uniform pants.  Perhaps the best finds of all were old vintage t-shirts, with rare prints of Billy Idol or The Who.

Hardware stores: I made my old wallet chains using interesting types of chains that were intended for hanging lamps.  They were more fun than traditional wallet chains, and made good necklaces, too.

Pet stores: Leather collars for pets with studs on them made suitable wrist cuffs.

Army surplus stores: My favourite army jackets and combat boots were found here, but that’s not surprising.  What is surprising is that the army surplus also had a flea market like component, where I found Billy Idol sweat bands from the 80s.

Flea markets: These yielded all kinds of interesting finds – not just clothes, but things that could be repurposed into jewellery, like a great big bag of wooden beads I bought.  This was also the perfect place for finding cheap, original Star Trek memorabilia.

Costume stores: Stockings with skulls or bones on them made perfect pantyhose when paired with my Cindy Lauper skirt.  They also sold things like handcuffs, wrist cuffs and faux-leather gloves.  These were intended as costume accessories, but I wore them as real accessories.

Dollarstores: My sister and I bought children’s jewelry , like big chunky rings, plastic bracelets or necklaces, and wore them with playful irony.  Anything weird, tacky, interesting, vintage or ironic, I loved.

Obviously times have changed dramatically, and although my punk phase has forever influenced some of my musical tastes and socio-political values, I now dress in a much more conservative way.  But I find myself remembering the zest and creativity I put into a simple thing like fashion with wave of nostalgia and some degree of awe. I believe that living creatively is important, and I want to harness some of that energy and enthusiasm I had as a 15 year old, and apply it to my life today.  It’s easy to follow the herd, and it’s easy to resort to the most obvious solutions when it comes to meeting our needs for things like clothing.  It’s an easy choice to head out to a mall and participate in traditional retail activities.  But isn’t it more fun, more fulfilling, to think differently about our lives? To think differently when it comes to solving daily problems or challenges?

Only now do I realize that my unconventional approach set the stage for a fulfilling, frugal lifestyle.  I love to shop at thrift stores, consignment stores, antique stores, flea markets, Habitat for Humanity Re-Stores, and garage sales. I love doing swaps with friends and exchanging handmedowns. I love making my own gifts and cards.  I love repurposing items and I love using a “DIY” ethic to repair or modify something I already have and make it into something new.  Who would have guessed that as a punk teenager, sifting through boxes of unwanted clothing, that I would be setting the stage for financially frugal, environmentally-sound, sustainable living?  Granted that now I’m shopping for antique tea cups instead of Billy Idol memorabilia, but the essential message stays the same: employ creativity and abundance you will find!