ephemera and tsukumogami
ephemera - noun: something of no lasting significance
I recently have been snooping around BearBlog's "Discover" page and I stumbled upon Eric Krueger's blog post, "Ephemerality Valley" and it triggered a couple of thoughts that I think I'd like to write about.
ephemera
In his post, Eric talks about a theory that he has about owning something new. He describes his theory, the ephemerality valley, as the idea that in between "just getting it" and "owning it for a long time" there is a period of time when your attachment to something is low.
This concept makes sense - I think when our minds get "used to" something, we become opportunistic and try to find something better after the novelty fades away. Then when we've stuck around with it for a while, we become comfortable using it and it is what we know. In fact, there are several concepts that adhere to this type of curve: the culture shock curve, tech adaptation curve, culture shock curve, etc. 1
It made me start thinking, I wonder if this is true for folks with ADHD. Part of me thinks that its rare for anything in my life to make it long enough for me to get outside the "valley" - onto the latter half of the graph; I'm pretty sure mine is a cliff. First, the high, then the fall, and then I pivot and move onto the next novel thing.
Is it true? I've thought about all the new gadgets, hobbies, and toys. Rarely do things make it out of the valley of low-attachment. The ones that do though, I must say, the attachment might even be higher than the original interest. I'm curious what things have made it out of the valley.
Sometimes, having ADHD is living as if objects are ephemera.
tsukumongami
At the footnote of his post, Eric links to "prana" which is the yogic concept that everything, including inanimate objects, has a life-force. I was watching a Studio Ghibli film with my girlfriend and it occurred to me that there is a similar concept in Japanese culture called "つくも神 (tsukumongami)" - this is the idea that tools that have acquired a spirit. More specifically, the term generally refers to inanimate objects that have reached 100 years old becoming alive and sentient.
I think it's such an interesting idea and concept - especially with the idea before regarding ephemera.
I hope to one day be a person who enjoys the longevity of things. In the age of rampant planned obsolescence and consumer waste where things get replaced every year, the prospect of having an object or device last more than 5 years is rare.
I imagine the spirits living in the objects I obtain are also hoping the same.2
Google search "honeymoon phase graph". You'll get charts like Tech Adoption Curve↩
It's also hilarious to think the kind of faces objects have. Of course, it's a personification, but it's an interesting thought.↩