Time. We all have a limited amount of it to spend on this planet, and none of us know exactly how much we have.
This thinking, good thinking, is why we invest so much money in time saving products and services. But is that a good idea? Consider:
Rather than build our own furniture, we buy it. Sure, some things are better this way, but more often then not the furniture we buy is a compromise, it isn't exactly what we want.
Rather than grow vegetables in a garden, we buy them pre-packaged and preserved.
Rather than take a few minutes to throw some ingredients together for soup we toss the chicken carcass and buy soup in a can.
and the list goes on. What do we do with that saved time? Most people either work longer hours at the office or watch more TV.
Why have replaced tasks with inherent benefits (The satisfaction of making something, the joy of planting and harvesting a garden, the creativity of cooking) with more labor or with the time suck of television (or games, or surfing the internet, this isn't a tv rant)?
I think it's time to start removing time savers from life and go back to enjoying the time we spend rather than trying to save it up only to waste it on garbage. I've started by wet shaving.
Wet Shaving is, quite simply, shaving like everybody did fifty years ago. I started with a bowl, brush and soap set that I found at Target for $20. I started learning how to make a lather with a bowl and a brush, and found that (1) I actually enjoyed this slower way of shaving and (2) It was a million times better than using shaving creme from a can. Don't even get me started on how much better than an electric this is.
After finding an old razor and getting some blades, I now shave like it's 1959. And not only is it cheaper (blades cost $.09-$.20 each rather than multiple dollars) but it's vastly more enjoyable. It is NOT faster.
For thirty years of shaving I did it wrong, abusing my face in the interest of saving time. Now what I've found, almost two years into shaving this way, is that I was cheating myself out of a quiet morning ritual and making my face feel much worse in the process.
Wet shaving is infinitely better than the modern way. I'm certain this can't be the only area in the world where the time saving way is worse. I need to find more ways to put the enjoyment back into the mundane in life!
