The marginalization of productivity is a feature of our modern world. It keeps us good consumers, because we can’t make the things we use on a day-to-day basis. If we can make them, making them is seen as low-status, and/or the things we make are seen as low-worth. ”Bought” things are better. At least, that’s how it’s been. We are seeing a turn-around as, to cut prices, the “bought” things are being made so cheaply that their quality has dropped below middling-well-made home items. How did we get here?
Author: hearthie
Daydreaming of a New Life
Why would you want to leave your home? I was born here, raised here, I married here, raised a family here, my parents are here. I know the pathways and the taste of the wind after a good rain.
A change of location would mean that I would have to build new community networks. It would mean learning the land, the people, the weather, and their ways. In daydreams, everything goes perfectly. In reality, there is no such thing as a ‘perfect place’.
Daydreams vs. reality – there will always be a tug-of-war.
Main Character Energy
But what if we stepped up and decided to embrace that main character energy? If we slapped on our tiaras and got on with the business of being beautiful, got on with the business of being kind, got on with the business of doing the -whateverthings- we know we have been called to do in this world, if we got on with the business of creating change. Our main character energy might move mountains, if we showed up.
If Your Possessions Could Talk…
I heard someone (speaking from the minimalist point of view) say that all our possessions are chattering at us all the time. I’d agree with this. I certainly feel much more at peace and ready to create in a clean, orderly space. If your possessions could talk, would they make you give them away?
I *love* books. One of my dreams is to have a home big enough to put all our books out in a central location and have a proper library. My books don’t say, “you’re stupid, why don’t you read me”, my books say, “Look at all this lovely knowledge! Right at your fingertips… and remember the good times we had together, when you wandered through my pages?”
Preparing for the End
Preparing for the end of 2023, I’m getting my ducks in rows for Christmas and reviewing my past year-end posts and Deep Thoughts. 2023’s “word of the year” was transformation. 2023 has definitely been transformative. Where do I find myself, at the end of all this transformation? Struggling to walk forward instead of back. And that, my dear friends,…
Why do we fear Beauty?
Why do we fear Beauty? Because Beauty points us to God. Beauty is a window to the transcendent. It stops you, affects you, speaks to your heart. Beauty is dangerous. Beauty is not prettiness. Prettiness is decorative. Beauty is more. What’s the difference? It’s the difference between standing on a hillside watching a sunset with…
What is a Status Symbol?
What is a status symbol? It is an item which you value because you own it, not because you use it. Let’s unpack that… We determine an item’s value based on a number of concrete factors including the cost of materials, the cost of the labor (which includes both expertise and number of people-hours), and…
Year In Review: Rosh Hashanah 2023
As someone whose faith tradition lacks much in the way of a liturgical year, I am drawn to the Jewish holidays. They are, after all, the ones set forth in the Bible. Extreme Protestantism leaves one a bit bereft… we don’t do Lent or Advent or Saint’s Days. Easter and Christmas, that’s it. (I have…
Leaving Laodicea
Coming October 1, 2023 Laodicea is a worldview that values the rat-race over connection. It’s a physical location that makes it hard to participate in community even if we want to. Laodicea has its hooks in all of us. We know that what we’re doing isn’t working. We read the statistics about loneliness being more…
When Chaos Comes Calling
Chaos is calling. And she will be answered. We have been too long civilized, too long dependent on things. We have forgotten the tales we were told at Mother’s knee, tales about love and valor and miracles. Our dreams are of control, shaped out of plastic and spit out of a machine – one size…