The Beauty Of Being Useless

[Hyperion]

 

[PenguinPablo]

I knew it was gonna be an Elliot video lol.

[LastThursday]

@Hyperion the video is a really useful reminder. It's not something that gets talked about at all and so counterintuitive that most people just dismiss it. I've always called it "obligation", you spend your life being obligated to one person or another, at work, with family, to yourself. But usefulness is probably a better framing, when you are useful to people you are automatically obligated to them. In fact people generally won't even consider you if you don't provide value to them, which is just usefulness in disguise. It's so ingrained that to go against it and deliberately make yourself useless gets you stigmatised or ignored. 

I like the related Japanese idea of Wabi-sabi which finds beauty in imperfect things. The idea being the norm that only perfect things can be beautiful or functional and by extension useful. How much of Western culture is bound up in the idea of perfection as a type of usefulness? If something is perfect, then it is beautiful, then it has a use as an object (or person) of desire or inspiration or monetary value. Wabi-sabi turns that idea on its head.

How many times when you're introduced to someone new that the second question of their mouths is "What do you do?". It's the only way we can feel comfortable because we can then value that person in terms of their usefulness. What do you think when someone says "I'm unemployed"? How much more refreshing would it be to be asked "What are your dreams?" or "What brings you joy?" or even "What is it like to be you?".

Edited 16 hours ago by LastThursday

[Mellowmarsh]

[Joseph Maynor]

Man!  Who thinks this for their life?

[Mellowmarsh]

I was lucky to distance myself from useless theoretical knowledge.
 

 

[vibv]

Yes, but Peace is not the most valuable thing there is—it's Freedom.