The Beauty of Simple Things

Take, for example, a piece of plain, unbleached cotton muslin. You look at it and can’t see the amount of life it took to bring it to you. From the long, slow process of building soil in which to plant the seeds, the long cycle of natural forces that brought water to germinate the seeds. The pale threads don’t show you the magic of the seed cracking open to send out tender shoots, or of a seedling eating sunlight and drinking water to grow a green body, or the teeming community of tiny things beneath the surface breaking down waste and debris that feeds the soil, forming relationships with the roots of the plants so they can all feed more effectively. The flat, smooth surface doesn’t reveal the hands and machines that tended the plants, harvested and processed the cotton, carried it to a factory to be spun and woven, then carried it out again to a store, the people who work in that store to put the fabric into your hands, so that you can hold it in your hands, and … find it boring.

I have no desire to tend to every step of the process, but I find it valuable to contemplate what it takes to make a piece of fabic. It helps me find even the most plain scrap of muslin precious and fascinating. If we contemplate the enormous amount of energy required to stock our homes with even the most basic needs, it’s overwhelming and humbling. Hopefully, it helps us to feel an immense sense of gratitude for how we are supported and held by this complex web of connections. Hopefully, it helps us realize how interdependent we are for even the simplest of things, whether or not we ever meet the people whose inventiveness and labor make our lives possible. 

Questions to ponder:

What do you consider to be the most boring thing in your house? 

Do you know how it’s made? If not, spend a little time learning about it. Imagine the various steps that make its existence possible, from the raw materials, to the processing and manufacturing, to the retail structure that gives you access to it.

Do you still find it boring? Do you think any differently of the item than you did before you started?

How do you feel about the amount of effort that goes into producing this boring item?

Repeat the exercise as often as you like.

Photo by yours truly.

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