(should be filed under half-baked)

I spent much of today working on polishing a bit of metal.  Purely decorative in nature, one might think that this was, if not a wasted, at least an unnecessary activity.  After all, bright work, be it on a harness, gun, or kitchen ware, isn’t mandatory for its function.  Other bits, also needing cleaning, might be needed; but not the decoration.

Working on it was simply several hours of a straightforward task that allowed me to appreciate its existence, the skill of the craftsmen, and the history of the people for whom it was bought.  It was, and is, simply a moment and item of elegance.

Yet, we perhaps have too little of that in our lives.  For all of our conspicious consumption, there is a strong tendency to justify things: we have innumerable gadgets that are all supposed to do something.  Items solely for display are considered ostentatious.  Buying the newest electronic gadget is being prepared for work, buying a luxury handbag is elite frivolity.  Yet, both are displayed, both signal that the possessor is ‘with it’ in some way.  Sometimes though, I think the buyer of the handbag may be more honest in their motivations (assuming they, of course, admit they bought it because they liked it not that they Had to have it).