The accumulation of things
Late in the afternoon on Saturday I went over to Walgreens to get Tin another sketch book as he and Margarete have filled up two already. His crayons and drawing are his new favorite thing. A second hand store has opened nearby on Carrollton Avenue and so I went in – not because I need anything, but because I wanted to do some mindless shopping after having a yellow day with Tin.
A while ago, someone told me of my stereo system that was once the Cadillac of hi fidelity that I could go to Radio Shack and buy a $100 stereo and it would be better than what I had that was now 20 years old. This person said technology had changed so much that smaller was infinitely better than the behemoth I owned.
While that is true about technology and right now we are living in such rapid advancements that built in obsolescence is not three years but three minutes, the truth is there is so much stuff out there in the world that why buy any clothes, furniture, dishes, car, purse, candle holder that is new.
What if we as a world put a moratorium on producing one more thing and invested all of our energy into renewing, revitalizing and refurbishing what is old. Think of all the houses and office buildings and warehouses that would be fixed up, or the clothes that would be updated, the jewelry, the purses, the tchotchkes, and artwork that could be dusted off, sanitized, and used a new?
The world is too much with us
Late and soon
Getting and spending we lay waste our powers
Little in nature we see that is ours
We’ve given our hearts away
A sordid boon…