Thoughts on Shopping

There was a power outage in my area today, so I was forced to take a break from my projects. I thought I should use this opportunity to buy some winter clothes and shoes. At the mall, I saw all kinds of clothes and accessories. My eyes wandered towards the stylish and colourful ones, but I soon became more clear-headed.

I remember in 2000, I had just turned 20 and went to Beijing to appeal to the central government about the persecution of Falun Dafa. I stayed in Beijing for a while. Because I did not bring many clothes, I was going to go shopping in a local mall. A practitioner asked me, "What's your favourite colour?" I said casually, "Red, yellow, or blue. I like anything that's bright and colourful." Yet when I had finished shopping, everything I had bought was black. Actually I had spent quite a bit of time at the mall before I decided to buy these inexpensive yet practical black clothes. Didn't I want bright-coloured clothes? The reality was that I had been driven away from home and was now homeless--how could I pay that much attention to my appearance?

A few years later, I again became homeless because the police drove me away from my home. I was staying with a practitioner that commented on my unfashionable clothes. She said, "You should wear a skirt sometime." I smiled and said nothing. I thought about how long it had been since I had worn a skirt. It was before the persecution began in 1999. At that time, I wore long, flowery skirts and high-heeled shoes. I had hair all the way down to my waist.

My reminiscing was interrupted by the shop assistant at the mall, who said, "You can try on anything you want."

Other girls treat shopping as entertainment. For me, it is more of a torture. I cannot choose clothes according to my personal preference. Instead, I have to consider their functionality. The top cannot be too bright, so I usually wear black, grey, or brown. This way I won't attract too much attention. It also has to be a little bigger than my actual size, so I can hide truth-clarification materials inside. In terms of pants, I usually wear jeans, since they have many advantages. First, they are durable (although I have already worn through three pairs). Second, they don't show stains easily, so I don't need to wash them too often. Third, they are stretchy, so I can sit down any time and meditate with ease. Fourth, they have four pockets that are good for hiding things. Once inside a labour camp, I hid Master's articles in the small pocket inside the big front picket, and the guards did not find them even after searching me. For shoes, I usually wear rubber-soled ones that are both durable and good for long walks.

For the last nine years, I have followed these "shopping standards." In all seasons but summer, I wear the same pair of shoes. It is not that Falun Dafa practitioners are impoverished. With the exception of basic necessities, we spend all of our income on truth-clarification projects. That is why we have been able to persevere for these nine years and have never stopped working. Every practitioner is doing the same.

Initially, I did not want to submit an article to Clearwisdom on this subject. It is also not so much of a sharing article. But I realized that, besides practitioners, there are other people with predestined relationships that read Clearwisdom, including those whose job is to monitor Clearwisdom. I would like to say to you: "You will not be able to understand what Dafa practitioners have given up. We are clarifying the facts and resisting the persecution with our hearts, and you are participating in the persecution for money. The two cannot be compared. How much money can buy nine years of the prime of my life? Yet Dafa practitioners are saving people with their hearts and giving their all for this cause. Please cherish the opportunities to learn the facts about the persecution and choose a bright future for yourselves!"