Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Less stuff, more joy.
quoted for truthery, from Word Spy:
joy-to-stuff ratio (joy-too-STUF ray.shee.oh) n. The time a person has to enjoy life versus the time a person spends accumulating material goods.
Earliest Citation:
It also reminds me of Kevin Spacey's admonition to Annette Bening in American Beauty:
Carolyn Burnham: This is a $4,000 sofa, upholstered in Italian silk. It is not just a couch.
Lester Burnham: [shouts] It’s just a couch!
I stumbled across this just as Van and I begin the great packing odyssey in earnest, having already thrown out most of the junk we can't keep as we move from Surbiton into Central London. It's amazing how much "stuff" creeps into your life without you knowing it, whether physical or emotional, like the sand that covers your feet when you stay too long in one place on the shore. Eventually you have to walk on and shake it all off.
Am in an odd mood today.
joy-to-stuff ratio (joy-too-STUF ray.shee.oh) n. The time a person has to enjoy life versus the time a person spends accumulating material goods.
Earliest Citation:
You're not really spending money when you spend money, Joe and Vicki say. You're spending the life energy you put into earning that money. You only have so much life energy. What do you want to use it for? Commuting? Shopping sprees? Going for walks? Playing with your children? Serving your community? Taking that question seriously does wonders for one's joy-to-stuff ratio, decreasing stuff, increasing joy.
—Donella H. Meadows, "One woman's search for the American dream," The News & Record, July 17, 1995
—Donella H. Meadows, "One woman's search for the American dream," The News & Record, July 17, 1995
It also reminds me of Kevin Spacey's admonition to Annette Bening in American Beauty:
Carolyn Burnham: This is a $4,000 sofa, upholstered in Italian silk. It is not just a couch.
Lester Burnham: [shouts] It’s just a couch!
I stumbled across this just as Van and I begin the great packing odyssey in earnest, having already thrown out most of the junk we can't keep as we move from Surbiton into Central London. It's amazing how much "stuff" creeps into your life without you knowing it, whether physical or emotional, like the sand that covers your feet when you stay too long in one place on the shore. Eventually you have to walk on and shake it all off.
Am in an odd mood today.
Labels: random stuff
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