Structures for Survival

In a planet overloaded with material things what justification is there for one more new design? Can we afford to squander our dwindling resources on ephemeral fashion changes? - on something new for the sake of being new? Energy and raw materials are used both in an object's creation and in its (invariably too soon) disposal. The only justification for me is not the object itself but its message. If it acts in some way as an agent for change, if maybe it causes a few thoughts and reflections then it has a value. The waters that are parted by a sailing boat's passage come together in its wake and leave no trace of its passing. I would like to live like this and yet I see a trail of litter behind me and an irreversible change on the planet.

So, look - enjoy the "pleasing" form. But think too . . . .

Why will a fishtrap always be necessary? . . . . . but a supermarket trolley become redundant?

Rock in the cradle of our childhood . . . . . in the forests of our ancestors.

Be comforted by our past of self sufficiency. There was a time when individuals were vulnerable but the planet was strong. Now we are stronger and less threatened by nature, but the planet has become vulnerable.

There was a time when our survival depended on the things we made . . . . . for shelter, to catch food, and to store it safely.

There was a certain comfort in that dependence . . . . . . we found around us the materials to make and repair those things. The form of the objects had a logic . . . . . that was how they were made and they had to be like that to function.

If the things I make rekindle some of these emotions and memories, then maybe they will dispel flippancy . . . . make us think and act with wisdom and responsibility.

Step lightly with a delicate footprint.