I was thinking the other day: What hasn’t changed all that much? You know, what are the things that seem unchanged by time, or circumstances, or politics, or stupidity?
Here’s a few of the things I could come up with:
- Flowers, and flower arranging. Can a robot EVER do that for us?
- Home gardening. People still love to dig in the dirt. And I hear that seed exchanges are back again, which is a very cool thing.
- Prayer and meditation. There’s just no substitute for it, if you believe in that sort of thing.
- A well-crafter, homemade pie. Has to be homemade, with a crust-from-scratch mind you. No scrimping on this one… a good one takes time.
- Seeing something first-hand. I mean, you can always see it on TV or in the movies or videos, but nothing ever beats seeing an elephant up close and personal.
- The easiest exercise there is, and some say the best for you. That IS why we’re bipedalists, right?
- A hug, given just at the right moment of need. You’ll know it when you get it.
- Violin making. And probably lots of other skilled wood-working type things… However, a bookcase CAN be made by a machine, whereas a violin, never!
- Personal storytelling. I’m talking the type of things that you hear around the campfire, or a story told to you by your grandma or grandpappy. It’s fun to read, but it’s funner to just sit and listen sometimes, too.
- Maybe this is just a personal preference. I love mosaics, and I’ve gone out of my way to find them. They never cease to amaze, especially the ones from the BC years. They probably didn’t always think of it as “art,” yet the ancient mosaics all tell incredible stories.
OK, that’s a start. What can you add to the list?
And I suppose that means we should talk about what HAS changed?? That list is probably endless, which means something without end. I’ll throw out a few, but I’ll stop once it starts to depress me:
- Theater
- Newspapers
- Art and art museums
- Gift giving
- Music, especially the music business
- Politics, and how nasty it is now
- Restaurants, and how trends dominate more than just good food
- Architecture, and infrastructure
- Medicine, some of it probably for the better, but not most
- Computers
- Time pieces, and don’t get me started about the Apple watch
- Teaching
- Shopping
- Banking and investing
- Religion
- War
- Debates
- Movie making
- Photography, starting with digital
- Quilt making, but only because of the rampant use of machines now
- Sex
- Golf
- Agriculture
- Energy
- Tele-communications