Philosophy: Maintenance
We always ask the "whats new?" question. We love the bright ideas, shiny new cars, and brand new houses. We love fresh thoughts, so much that we dislike old(ish) people.
I sometimes do things, which make me look like a stranger to myself. For example, I started to take my household responsibilities more seriously. Simple chores like cooking, cleaning, dusting, and restocking get both time and attention. While cleaning on a Sunday afternoon, it struck me that "Left to itself everything decays".
"Everything" is a big list, which includes fruits, teeth, relationships, gas burners, cars, and computer software. Dust accumulates on the furniture, and requires a periodic cleaning. Weed grows in the backyard, and needs pruning. Almost all walks of life need maintenance; only the form and frequency vary. Maintenance essentially needs time and energy.
Every new aspect (a girlfriend, new born baby, a car, a house, money), which gets added to our lives, comes with its share of maintenance. I believe that as we grow older, we spend more and more time in maintenance. An interesting aspect is that one can put in seemingly endless of time (& energy) into maintenance of any item/aspect. Some people vacuum their house just once a week, spending 15 minutes. There are others who vacuum daily, brush all their showpieces everyday and in this process easily spend a couple of hours each day.
These days maintenance can be outsourced, is a big part of business/economics and generates a lot of revenue. Housemaids, car mechanics, production support teams, and personal bankers are a few examples of maintenance shops. What one spends in money, he saves in time.
Having spoken so much about maintenance, once in a while one notices things, which require minimal maintenance. Like a TV set which runs for years, or the vi editor. A thing like that is precious, one to cherish.
I sometimes do things, which make me look like a stranger to myself. For example, I started to take my household responsibilities more seriously. Simple chores like cooking, cleaning, dusting, and restocking get both time and attention. While cleaning on a Sunday afternoon, it struck me that "Left to itself everything decays".
"Everything" is a big list, which includes fruits, teeth, relationships, gas burners, cars, and computer software. Dust accumulates on the furniture, and requires a periodic cleaning. Weed grows in the backyard, and needs pruning. Almost all walks of life need maintenance; only the form and frequency vary. Maintenance essentially needs time and energy.
Every new aspect (a girlfriend, new born baby, a car, a house, money), which gets added to our lives, comes with its share of maintenance. I believe that as we grow older, we spend more and more time in maintenance. An interesting aspect is that one can put in seemingly endless of time (& energy) into maintenance of any item/aspect. Some people vacuum their house just once a week, spending 15 minutes. There are others who vacuum daily, brush all their showpieces everyday and in this process easily spend a couple of hours each day.
These days maintenance can be outsourced, is a big part of business/economics and generates a lot of revenue. Housemaids, car mechanics, production support teams, and personal bankers are a few examples of maintenance shops. What one spends in money, he saves in time.
Having spoken so much about maintenance, once in a while one notices things, which require minimal maintenance. Like a TV set which runs for years, or the vi editor. A thing like that is precious, one to cherish.
posted by Mohit Gupta at 3:15 AM
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