Pumpkin spice lattes, frivolous mazes and ghoul faces haunt every aisle, every boutique, and the corners of our mind in boredom.
Have our lives become so mundane that we require a new set of seasonal attributes to lift our spirits? Or is it a form of mindful overconsumption, feeding our minds the same spike of joy as the foam we sip out of our mugs?
Still, who cares? The real question is: what’s your pumpkin spice latte? What makes your chest tighten with giddy anticipation? What drops into your life and whispers, “new, new, new”? Because that’s what this whole Pumpkin Industrial Complex really sells: the promise of renewal, every year, without fail.
Here comes the peanut gallery shouting “Stop! This is overconsumption!” Or “Stop! The seasons will change!” And now add in me, asking you “Stop! What brings you joy like your favorite pumpkin-scented anything?”
Because the truth is desire was never shallow. Culture just loves to costume-change what’s ‘worthy.’ It calls your latte basic but your burnout noble. It sneers at pumpkin soap dispensers while applauding your yearly iPhone funeral. Desire itself isn’t the problem, the cage surrounding it is.
But don’t let the Scrooges of the pumpkin season fool you. Truly only one question matters: “Why wouldn’t you?”
Why wouldn’t you sip the pumpkin latte, buy a scarecrow soap dispenser, say yes to the maze? Why wouldn’t you lean into wanting, just because you can?
That’s the real terror haunting the season: not ghosts, not witches, but you. A person unafraid of their own joy.
Because that’s truly what the Pumpkin Industrial Complex fears. A person who wants, simply because they can.
