In with the old

It occurred to me today that a consumer-driven society is decidedly less possible when ‘old’ is appropriately valued. That’s hard to achieve at a time when many products are purposely made with a limited life span. And when these same products are marketed in such way that makes you feel like you’ve absolutely got to have the newest version.

But still it’s possible.

I got to thinking about some things in life that might improve if, collectively, we valued the idea of sticking with something, even after it’s lost it’s shine. Some of them are small things, and even those are worth the effort because let’s face it…even small changes can be significant. But others have much bigger implications, such that I enjoy the opportunity to consider them.

We’d likely save more money, as opposed to living on leverage.

Employers might begin, again, to see the value in loyalty to their employees.

We might start to see a greater distinction between wants and needs.

Limited natural resources might be seen as sacred rather than existing purely to fuel our economic machinery.

Perhaps we’d honor our elderly family members/neighbors/coworkers more and be open to the invaluable lessons they can teach us.

Traditions might become more important, helping to solidify a sense of belonging in each of us.

Our divorce rates might drop.

We all might want for less.

It’s a short list, but a lot to think about. What would you add? Do you see a benefit in such a shift? Or is our world of dynamic change – always moving toward bigger, better, faster, newer – more preferable? I’d love to talk about it…

Tagged as: change, old, out with the new, tradition