Romanticize how you get things
We have become disconnected...
Brook Slagle • 2024-01-07
Hey, it's Brook.
I have been thinking about something recently that might change your life...
We have become disconnected from the way we acquire things.
It's as simple as... "Buy"
As a society, we have the greatest conveniences at our fingertips. You no longer have to get off the couch to order groceries. And in 48 hours they can appear at your doorstep.
There is nearly zero effort.
We lack of purpose, but have an abundance of all consumerist things. All at the drop of the hat. We have little struggle.
We lose our on potential whimsical occurrences while doing things because things are so fast and easy.
One of these is just how we acquire things.
Let's take the example of getting a nice, leather-bound notebook.
How do we go about acquiring this leather-bound notebook today?
I can say it in one word: Amazon.
Or if you want to support a small business and make yourself feel a little better, I can use another word: Etsy.
There is nothing inherently wrong with these companies, or others like them.
But they are designed for one thing: make it incredibly easy for you to buy what you want in a matter of seconds.
In fact, it took me 6 seconds to find this exact one on Amazon
Once we order it, it will likely show up on our doorstep in a few days (possibly same day if you live in the right area!). Then we can say we have acquired a leather-bound notebook.
How would we have acquired a leather-bound notebook 100 years ago?
There were a few ways:
We could be able to buy one or have it made from a leather-worker's shop if you were lucky enough to have one in your town or village.
We could wait until the next weekly marketplace to possibly find one from a regional leather-worker.
We might have to get on a train or catch a ride to a big-city department store to find one.
We might have to make it ourselves, which would take weeks of learning basic leather-working, procuring the materials, and finally constructing the notebook.
And each of these options takes a while to actually acquire the notebook, and most of them require some form of social interaction.
As well, each of these processes would create a story, something to make that notebook all the more special.
Each time you would look at the notebook, you would remember the trials you went through to get it, be it making it from hand or the trip to the market.
That item now has a story.
But this has all been stripped away.
The story of our items nowadays is now this:
shipped in a recyclable Amazon box and dropped on our doorstep by someone who couldn't care less about the box's contents.
now that is something special... (sarcasm)
You have zero connection to the product.
The connection is what you make of it, but I know many others who have year old blank notebooks because they had no real incentive to write in. And I believe that is because there is no story behind it.
How do we get back to this?
We must romanticize the process.
I am not saying to romanticize your impulse purchases on Amazon. That doesn't solve the problem.
I am saying, take the long way around. The obstacle is the way.
Take your time before buying something.
Ask others around you for recommendations.
Do your research. Find what brands are the best.
Figure out which brands align with your values, and buy the one that does.
Learn how the thing is made. See if you can make it yourself.
If you can't make it yourself, see if you can buy it from a local crafter in your town.
You have options besides marketplaces designed to steal your money and give you a subpar product.
And going down the alternative route can give you some pretty serious benefits, like:
You will have a better product
You have a much higher likelihood of using it.
You will take better care of it.
You are more connected to it.
It has a story.
You allow entropy into your life, and that can take you ANYWHERE.
Just take a little longer before the next time you press "buy". Ask yourself:
"Is this really what I want and how I want to get it?"
As always...
KEEP GOING
B.S.
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