Get down

I don't know how to summarize the drastic changes in my philosophy. Suffice it to say, I am making things from scratch now. I am sewing, building, growing, cooking and learning; getting down to grassroots. I find that life makes more sense this way.

And I have a hunch other people will, too. I look around me and I don't understand any of it; why are things done the way they are done? What is a sharpie made of?

There was a time when everyone knew how to make something, because they had to know. To eat, to work, to live... making things was a part of every day life. But in this modern world, we don't have to make anything if we don't want to. What a luxury! Everything is given to us in complete, inscrutable packages, from our pre-made clothing and furniture and houses to our pre-made food. Many kids these days are being raised in a pre-made world--automated robotic toys ensure that even play can be programmed beforehand.

But the more we are alienated from the process of bringing things into being, the less we seem to value things. Quantity has replaced quality. We have gobs of shoddy products that beg replacing on a regular basis, and toward which we feel little loyalty or responsibility. What I'm afraid of is that we are losing our potency as creators and our investment in the real world around us. We, as humans, are hard-wired to make things, and we're good at it. Look at civilization! It exists partly because of the human urge to make things. It makes us feel good, about life, about the world around us, about ourselves. And we are naturally more invested in the things we create. We take pride in them and in ourselves for making them. Not to mention that in many cases, hand made goods are simply better; longer lasting, sturdier, healthier (in the case of food).

But the interesting thing to me is that less tangible part. It seems that the greater value in making things from scratch is the process itself, the impact that creating has on the creator, the changes that can take place in a person's life when their potency is given back to them. Children are especially hungry for it in this plastic world that markets cereals and toys and video games to them all day long-- things a child has little hope of making from scratch. Fewer and fewer children are even acquainted with the concept that most of the things they need can be made, and quite easily, from cheap, raw natural ingredients, by anyone. It doesn't take a team of researchers, a corporate investor and a factory to make paint... it takes a little time and effort and a few ingredients you probably already have in your house. What they are missing out on is more than quality hand-made products. They are missing out on the fulfillment, confidence and purpose that comes with knowing their own powers of creativity.

I want to give children their potency back, plain and simple. I think a lot of children will be glad to have it.