Michael: Living with Less and can it be avoided

Waxy and wrinkled
The bright red chili peppers
Hang in our garden.

Friday, May 29, 2015

There is a stream of thought that advocates living a better life means living with less. But with less shoes and running attire? Where’s the fun in that?

Reluctantly, I’ve had to quasi-embrace this less is better creed because it’s very difficult to get the shoes and clothes I want here. For example, this year I’ve purchased two pairs of running shoes and no running apparel. That’s right, no socks, calf sleeves, shorts, shirts, arm sleeves (wait a minute… I did purchase two inexpensive pairs of those in David, for hiking, running and cycling), gloves, hats, vests or jackets.

Back home in the Santa Monicas, I had the reputation of being quite the dapper trail runner. I’m sure glad my old club members can’t get a good luck at me lately, running week after week in the same old shoes and apparel. 

People will say you can get whatever you want in Panama City but that’s a long and expensive trip. I could order from overseas but that has the drawback of high shipping costs, customs and duty fees, and the expense and hassle of returning an unwanted or defective product means you’re stuck if you aren’t happy when it gets here. In the states whatever I wanted to test out was on my door in two days with free shipping and free returns. That’s the American way.

There are a few advantages to getting by with less. For one, there’s a substantial financial savings. Secondly, it’s making me a more selective shopper. When we return to the states for a visit I’ve already honed my shoe purchases to two new pair and have a kit in the works as well. Now I’ll just need to find some runways - I mean races - to strut my stuff.

But only 4 pairs of shoes and one new kit for the entire year? I never would’ve imagined living overseas would call for such a sacrifice.