Tangible Goods vs. Experiences
Excerpt from “Why Knot?” Buy the book at Amazon
When I was four years old, my parents gave me ten cents a week as an allowance, and I could walk to the corner drug store and buy what I wanted.
The big choice was between tangible objects and ephemeral experiences. If I bought plastic cowboys and Indians, I could play with them over and over. And if I bought comic books, I could read them over and over. And in either case I could share or trade them with friends.
If instead, I bought penny candy or ice cream, while the experience would be delightful, it wouldn’t last. The act of enjoying it would destroy it. I would end up with nothing. Despite temptation, I almost never opted for candy or ice cream.
When my kids were young, I hoped that they would enjoy the toys and comic books that I had enjoyed at their age. But they showed little interest in the old stuff, caught up as they were in the new objects of popular culture that they and their friends saw advertised.
Now I value experiences. The boxes of plastic cowboys and Indians and comic books just take up space. They’re a burden to me, and, after I go, they’ll be considered trash. At this stage of my life, I want to enjoy the moment rather than accumulate tangible goods. I value ephemeral beauty and ephemeral pleasure, and memories of such moments.
