Collecting without attachment: building beauty wherever you go.
Daniel | June 30, 2008
Trent over at The Simple Dollar recently posted about Starting a Natural Collection. It’s a fascinating post, the idea being to collect for personal enjoyment things that are found free in nature. It got me thinking.
I like rocks. I really enjoy interesting rocks. For me, a rock connects me in a very real way to a place I’ve been. I have a rock in my office from the parking lot of a job I had in Las Vegas. I have fond memories of the job and the people, and while I have given away many, many other keepsakes from there, the simple rock is harder to let go of. I can’t explain it.
Rocks, on the other hand, will quickly become very heavy to haul around - even small ones. My preference is not for small rocks, either, but for hand sized and larger.
Collections also go against the grain of living simply - even if it’s a simple collection of simple items. So while I found the article and ideas interesting, something had to change if I was going to be able to participate in collecting anything.
Then I had an idea:
This idea lends itself to rocks, but it will also work for a time with anything durable. Collect, arrange, and leave.
Currently, I’m renting a house, so I can arrange the rocks I collect in a flower bed and leave them behind when I move. The arrangement, hopefully, will contribute beauty and provide a point of contemplation for a time to come. Then, either one day or over time, they’ll return to being nothing more than rocks in a place.
If you own a home, or live somewhere you’ll be for the long haul, you have the option to keep part of your collection where you are, but I’d also strongly encourage you to leave bits of it scattered about. Anywhere you think it stands a chance of both being undisturbed for a time and being seen. Perhaps a stand of trees in a park, or in an out of the way place at the beach, or in the mulch under a tree in the median (I suggest larger rocks for this one).
The idea of “building beauty” appeals to me. What other ways can you think of to build beauty?
I collect rocks, shells and also feathers.
Robin Maria Pedrero | June 30, 2008 | 11:03 amI collect rocks, shells and also feathers.
What an excellent idea. I collect shells and was
Alex | June 30, 2008 | 1:20 pmWhat an excellent idea. I collect shells and was already starting to consider how I might use them outside. Your post will spur me into action. :)
I like it. I do it, in fact (mine is
ifatree | August 15, 2008 | 4:19 pmI like it. I do it, in fact (mine is a mcdonalds toy from the parking lot, not a rock, but same principle).
on the idea of “rocks” tho, and leaving memories in-place, have you ever tried dry stacking medium to largish rocks? not only does it provide more interest than rocks on the ground, you can stack the rocks with someone else’s help and build a shared memory in a place you might later visit without that person.
it’s a bit depressing in a way, but it also lifts my spirits to think that i might still be able to go to a certain part of a certain national park and find the rocks that i stacked with a certain person years ago; that something as fickle as a college crush can be represented physically and in a way that might outlast my existence, without burdening anyone else with ever knowing its meaning. *sigh*
i like rocks.