Things. We all have things.
Things that are precious to us,
things that may carry a sentimental value,
things that may come in handy,
things that used to be used but not anymore,
things we have forgotten that we even have,
things that we have inherited,
things that has been left with us
for safe keeping,
things we don't know whether to keep
or to get rid of,
things that we keep because they
help us to remember......
That's the thing with things methinks, they are tangible/physical,
so we can touch them, smell them, handle them,
and when applicable, use them again and again.
They have a history, and that history can help
us to connect with our own and or others
connections with those things.
Photo albums, old home movies, books, paintings, CD's, vinyl records,
VHS tapes, diaries, journals, scrap books, kid's paintings,
hand made pottery items, old baby blankets, jewelry,
framed photographs, etc.etc. are some of those things
in my view.
It is possible for us in today's digital world to
transfer a garage/attic/house full of things onto one thing,
all we have to do is take a photo or record a video
of it all with an I-Thingy(Laptops, tablets, computers, smart phones).
On top of one of my bookcases I have a stone
with a drawing on it that one of my nephews
drew when he was three years old. What makes it precious and
a treasure to me, is that I remember vividly the smile on his face
and the pride in his voice when he told me he had made it for me.
I could of course take a photo of it and get rid of the stone,
but I won't, because I like holding the stone in my hand every
now and then and reconnect with the moment when the stone
was given to me.
Let's face it, us humans are emotional beings and we have a
tendency to attach emotions to things. Once we deem a thing as ''ours'',
we usually have feelings about or for that thing.
One could perhaps say that those things become external
receptacles of our memories, relationships, and our travels through life.
So I am going to stipulate here that the more that our senses are connected
to a thing, the more it means to us.
Enter the ''I-Thingy''. (Laptops, tablets, computers, smart phones)
I heard on the News that nowadays there is such a thing
as a ''Smart Phone Addiction'', it even has a name: ''Nomophobia''
Smart phones, they say, has gone from being a thing to becoming
a best friend for some people.
Wowzers.
When asked what people would grab out of their house if it was burning,
the most common answer used to be Photo albums and memento's,
today I guess the answer would be their Smart Phones/Laptops/tablets etc.
According to some research, some of us are so attached to our
phones that we experience anxiety if we misplace or lose our
phones even if temporarily.
Some of us have a habit of checking our phones every few minutes,
some of sleep with the phone next to us, some of us regardless of
having a meal with friends, being at work, or while driving a car,
still feel the need to keep checking for messages.
This need for constantly checking or using the phone in
public places has even lead to some establishments putting
up signs prohibiting the use of smart phones.
Smart phones, or the way we use them, they say, have changed
how we behave socially and not always in a healthy way.
As far as ''things'' go, it seems to me that the smart phone
sits at the very top of ''most important thing in my life''
list for many people.
(Personally, I have no emotional connection with my smart phone,
for me it is just a tool to make phone calls and texts on.
Most of the time I forget to charge it, often I have no
idea where it is, and usually, I don't even
hear it when it rings.)
Regardless of my views on the smart phone and its many uses,
I hope that we will not become so addicted to the
''digital haze'' that we forget the importance of analogue things.
Such as looking at real paintings, holding real books in our hands,
write journals on paper, print out photographs on paper,
go to live concerts, comedy shows, ballets, save our kids
paintings, travel in real life not only on a screen, have coffee or a meal
with friends with the phones switched off, go for walks on the beach,
in a forest, in a park, play board games, cards, watch a sunset/sunrise,
make a photo album, start a scrap book, etc.etc......
In short, every now and then, if you suspect that you may be spending too
much time on the phone, why not turn off your phone/laptop/tablet/etc.
and do something analogue?
After all, so far a smart phone cannot offer you what real life does....
an analogue experience.....
ps: the above image is inks on paper.....I just love the way ink behaves on wet
water colour paper.
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