JUST FOR FUN?

Whilst at a party and discussing list writing with another, I was reminded of the rejuvenating power of being subversive. An acquaintance that joined the conversation, described how she and her partner kept a running list of shopping items, that was added to on an ad-hoc basis throughout the week, to be purchased at the next supermarket outing, of which they took turns.

The list would predominantly be compiled of the quotidian necessities, but would also invariably include whimsical and nonsensical items of abstraction, such as 'three holes for the wind to blow through', or 'a space where the sun could shine'. My initial thought was that their reason for doing so was one of entertainment, but of course it was so much more than that.

It would seem to represent at a deeper level, an ideology and agency for sustainability. At a prima facia level, the utilitarian habit of household shopping is disrupted by the levity of such absurdist play, at once easing the burden of said chore, by injecting humour into the procedure. And yet at a deeper level, it's represents their determination to sustain, at every possible opportunity, the health, vibrancy, passion and vitality of their union. How wonderful! I applaud that!!

To quote my friend Tony Watkins ‘sustainability is not just about energy, composting or insulation, it's about leaving the world a little richer than you found it - trusting more than you really should, laughing instead of complaining. Showing compassion and empathy for people and respect for the environment and to have a little left over to enjoy just for the sheer love of being alive.’

To quote James Joyce ‘Love loves to love love' - the ability to sustain and even produce a surplus throughout the most boring of daily longueurs, does not require a hole lot of effort, but simply a mindset practiced in appreciation and gratitude and a healthy irreverence towards the pervasive and erosive ignorance, insanity and intolerable selfishness that is so often part of everyday existence.

Nietzsche said we have art in order not to die from the truth, I suggest subversion is yet another tool to add to our arsenal.