For a long time I have been a solitary person. I would prefer to be at home working on my projects. I ran into an old friend of mine and she talked me into going to church with her. Sooooo, now I'm in the chorus and have taken over their "web presence" and working on the fundraiser. The point is I'm now a much more sociable person spending time at people's houses. I thought it was just my friend Huggy-Bear that owned a lot of crap but I'm finding out that it's a lot of people.
I can understand the idea of art for art's sake. Some of Rodin's work can make me weep. But just to get something to "fill that corner" I don't understand. I look around my apartment at the plain white walls and realize that there is beauty in blank space. When I first started graphic design I would want to "fill that corner" and hadn't yet learned the use of white space. When can be used to emphasize the design itself. Opening up that space lets me enjoy it. A large white wall with a single picture on it is far more striking that a gallery.
A case in point is that I used to have this fancy cell phone, (I love my gadgets), Bluetooth web access, 2.1 mega pixel camera. But I was also so afraid that I've hurt it or lose it that I couldn't enjoy it. So now I have a $10 throw-a-way phone. It doesn't give me the joy that the other did, but the peace it gives me is worth far more.
Think of the things we own but don't use. I have another friend that has a number of exercise machines that he never uses. Every time she see them she feels guilty for not using so now that object is a source of guilt.
Our outer world is a reflection of our inner world. Now I know that the first thing that may pop into your mind is that it's an empty world. I would guess that your glass of water is half empty. I like to think of my glass as being empty. Think of the potential that it has. Instead of water I could put a flower in it. Rather than have a shelve full of knick-knacks, use that same space for just one quality piece. The less we have to focus on the more attention we give that which is left.
It's pretty amazing how little we really need. Living without the refrigerator brings that point home a lot. The other day I really had a craving for some chocolate. Now if I want chocolate I'll have chocolate. But by not having the fridge running to keep the chocolate in was none for me to have and I didn't want it bad enough to get in the car and go get some.
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1 comments:
I just happened upon your blog. The only thing missing from this post is the point that having less stuff also means you have less to clean and maintain. I hate cleaning! What a waste of life. Things only get dirty again. (That doesn't mean I don't clean, just that I try to keep my "stuff" to a minimum for this reason, and try to keep in mind how difficult it is going to be to maintain this or that item if I own it.)
But seriously, how do you live without a refrigerator? Where's the post on that?!
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