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Etsy.com today posted on their blog that they will be hosting a virtual book-club discussion of Henry David Thoreau’s Walden on May 20th at 7:00 p.m. (EDT). I’ve been long meaning to read more of this book than just the short sections assigned by my High School English teachers, so this seems like the perfect time to pick up the book again and join in a discussion with a group of other Etsy members who share my passion for hand-made goods and self-reliant living.
In addition to the virtual discussion in May, twitter users can follow an ongoing discussion of the book by adding #EtsyReads to their posts. Also, I’ll post thoughts here periodically as I read, to which people are more than welcome to add their own insights.
If you don’t already have a copy of the book, check out your local library or BookMooch.com, or you can get digital installments of the text emailed to you daily at http://www.dailylit.com/books/walden
From the March 2009 issue of The Sun magazine, I came across an interview with Nicholas Carr, author of the Atlantic article “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” I found the entire interview to be enlightening as Carr discussed the internet’s “re-wiring” of our brains and of an internet-user’s relationship to information. One particular question I found to be very relevant with the overall theme of this blog:
“Cooper [interviewer]: Do you think computers have harmed our relationship with nature?
Carr: I certainly think they’ve gotten in the way of our relationship to nature. As we increasingly connect with the world through computer screens, we’re removing ourselves from direct sensory contact with nature. In other words, we’re learning to substitute symbols of reality for reality itself. I think that’s particularly true for children who’ve grown up surrounded by screens from a young age. You could argue that this isn’t necessarily something new, that it’s just a continuation of what we saw with other electronic media like radio or TV. But I do think it’s an amplification of those trends.”
Computers and the internet can be useful tools in the democratization of voices, in increasing productivity and the speed of gathering information, but what sacrifices might be made to a person’s relationship to place, to the natural world and to local community when any particular media’s “symbols of reality” are either confused with or championed over the tangible realities that surround each individual and locale?
On my ride into work this morning, I was surprised to see what appeared to be a small park located in a parking spot on Milwaukee Ave. After a bit of poking around on the internet, I learned that today is PARK(ing) Day, a day when all around the world, “artists, activists, and citizens collaborate to temporarily transform metered parking spots into “PARK(ing)” spaces: temporary public parks.” The project is a wonderful visual reminder of the need for more green public spaces, and even beyond that goal the project offers a small view at what a more car-free lifestyle could look like.
Industrialized societies throughout the world offer a tremendous amount of space for the use of the automobile – so much so that many no longer view this still relatively new infrastructure as a privileged transportation option, but as a necessity that must be a driving force (no pun intended) in all areas of development and city planning. Meanwhile, the increase of public transportation and the walkability of a community are forced to take a backseat to the free flow of automobile traffic despite the inefficiency of that means of transportation and the suffering sense of community that comes from such an individualized system.
What PARK(ing) Day points out to me is that there is huge potential in the vast spaces currently devoted to automobile culture to be transformed into something that would benefit communities not only through decreased air and noise pollution and city beautification, but through safer and more plentiful shared community areas in which more food could be grown and distributed locally, and which would increase the viability of local businesses as more people take the time to walk along their parkways to find local restaurant and retail alternatives for the chains to which they were previously driving.
Take a walk today and think about how areas currently devoted to individualization might be better used to foster community in your area. Slow down and be a part of the place you inhabit.
Next month, one of my sisters is participating as a vendor at the first annual DIY Street Fair in Ferndale, MI. If you’re in the Detroit area September 20th or 21st, I encourage you to visit the “Elbe Everyday” stand, where you’ll be able to purchase hand-made and wonderfully-designed aprons and more.
As big-box retailers continue to expand and in some cases cannibalize on other sources of household goods, it’s wonderful to see the continuation of the localized and community-focused craft fair. Community craft fairs are in abundance this time of year, and are both a great place to purchase unique, handmade items, and a wonderful environment of creativity and inspiration for your own DIY projects.
As well as offering an alternative to mass-produced and location-insensitive merchandise, items at craft fairs are often locally-sourced, well-built and contain no packaging waste, purchases support talented community members so as to sustain one’s local economy, and the atmosphere is simply a great backdrop for spending time with friends and family on a warm, late-summer afternoon.
Much like getting fresh foods from a farmer’s market opens doors of communication and begins to blur the lines between creator and consumer, attending a craft-fair provides a rare opportunity to chat with the person or people who made a particular item. Striking up a conversation and developing a relationship with these creative community members allows for the opportunity to perhaps learn how to go about a new DIY project and become a more self-reliant person, or to share thoughts on common passions and perhaps launch a new community organization committed to knitting blankets so people can turn down their thermostats in the winter, or sewing reusable shopping bags for the local co-op, for example.
So please share some of your favorite craft fairs in the comments, then head out to your local craft fair with re-useable shopping bag and refillable water bottle in hand (or get these essential items at the craft fair if you don’t already have them), and be ready for a great experience with numerous benefits to both the community and the earth.
