Update Available 2.0
It is quite uncommon to see wear and tear these days. More specifically to see thoroughly used items is a rarity. Technology moves at an alarming rate and there is always a new update available. “ Make it faster, better, stronger” and get rid of the old/make way for the new. This has a direct influence on our philosophy of life, I believe. It is also due to the way we mass produce things as well. Many years ago a bottle was precious and saved after the contents had been used. Canning and preserving fruits and vegetables meant that we kept our jars, boiled them, and used them again and again. Today when we look at the glass jar of pickles in the refrigerator and see that it is empty, we just toss it out. My grandmother and my father used to save old coffee cans and use them to store items they used often. My father would put nails, nuts, and bolts in these coffee cans and save them to use for projects. When he demolished an old dog house, he would save the screws in these coffee cans. He would use what he had and I believe that this allowed him to be more creative in his projects. It wasn’t so for me. I always wanted the better, newer, and usually more expensive items. When something was worn out, it was done. However, most often it was not worn out.
Looking at items that have wear and tear shows their character. Looking at a well loved and appreciated item we can see beyond what the physical item is and see the direct nature of the owner of such an item. Seeing these well used and bruised items we are reminded of our own physical and mental transience. Like that cast iron cooking pan, I too will become worn and dented. The banged up tea pot, still in use in a busy kitchen sings a little verser to us, “ as I am, so will you be”. I can’t help but notice that hardly anyone wants to become old. We fight to stay looking young, hip, and sharp. Many people wonder about the aesthetic philosophy of Wabi-sabi.
wabi-sabi (侘寂) is a world view centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection.
seeing the imperfections of an item, we are actually seeing the life of an item. The life of an old cast iron frying pan may sound strange to some, but that’s only if we are seeing a frying pan, perhaps. When we look deeply at an old frying pan we can see the dedication of the heart of the cook, making breakfast for family after family. We can see failed recipes, delicious hot cakes, and the care that went into the cleaning and seasoning of the cast iron pan. The workers who poured the iron into the mold, the clerk that sold the pan, and the elements that actually make up the pan are all present in each meal cooked. All empty of an independent self, egg, cook, pan, iron, cooking, and serving all empty and vast. All of this can be seen in the modern plastic throw away items mass manufactured today, but its much harder, I believe. The reason that it is harder is because there was no intention for the items manufactured to last. Buy it, use it, toss it, and buy another one is the philosophy. The more you toss, the more money the manufacturer makes. It used to be that people treasured and sought out items that had a reputation for lasting. The change in the philosophy of production of the items we use is directly related to the philosophy of use. This philosophy extends to the way we look at society and people in general. I think it is important to hold on to our coffee cans and use them to house a single reusable precious nail, screw, and bolt.
