From: Arlo Bensinger (ajb102@psu.edu)
Date: Fri Nov 11 2005 - 20:19:54 GMT
Hi Rebecca,
Excellect advice. And sounds very much like what Pirsig himself did.
>All this consumer world bullshit can be overwhelming and defeating. The
>average person often wonders what the point is. Where to begin? Here
>are my suggesions:
>Take up knitting - if you're willing to come over to my place I'll gladly
>give you lessons. I think knitting, or woodworking, or any kind of
>utilitarian craft is an excellent place to begin your exploration of
>'alternative production.' The satisfying feeling of using something you
>created with your own hands is priceless.
Or motorcycle maintenance...
>The other trick is to not buy anything that doesn't have meaning for
>you. Abandon all that useless tacky crap (please!) - it's just
>landfiller. Spend the extra money for higher quality and you'll be
>impressed by what you get; it will mean more to you because you had to
>work harder for it, and you'll appreciate the joy of having beautiful things.
Don't base your value on what the "vendors of substance" tell you. "Put the
two together and you get a pretty accurate basic description of modern
American technology: stylized cars and stylized outboard motors and
stylized typewriters and stylized clothes. Stylized refrigerators filled
with stylized food in stylized kitchens in stylized houses. Plastic
stylized toys for stylized children, who at Christmas and birthdays are in
style with their stylish parents. You have to be awfully stylish yourself
not to get sick of it once in a while. It's the style that gets you;
technological ugliness syruped over with romantic phoniness in an effort to
produce beauty and profit by people who, though stylish, don't know where
to start because no one has ever told them there's such a thing as Quality
in this world and it's real, not style."
>The last solution is the easiest and, for some people, the hardest: Make
>art, listen to good music, read the biographies of inspirational people,
>really get to know your friends and family. Find hobbies that, if
>civilization ended tomorrow you could still undertake. Get involved in
>your community, make a difference in the lives of other people. Don't
>take life for granted by being a mediocre, unmotivated slave to consumer
>culture. Be your own person. Do philosophy! :)
... write a book called "Zen and the Art of..."
Arlo
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