This blog with my approval has flamed desire for watches, radios, cars. Desire is fun. As I tell my students, desire makes us human. I am no utilitarian rationalist.
But desire without skepticism makes us less than human. In other words, blind desire is something to be avoided.
So when it comes to watches, and other things, I try to counter my desires by asking myself where to draw the line between fun hobby and out-of-control insanity.
Obsessives like myself benefit when we can stand back and question ourselves with a strong dose of metacognition.
Well said. I've been teetering in the dangerous zone between fun hobby and out-of-control insanity, trying to pull myself back into the fun hobby zone. Like any addiction, the best way might be going cold turkey for awhile (no purchases) and then finding a more moderate relationship with the hobby (only occasional purchases).
What I find challenging is that every time I come to that point I start thinking, "OK, after these next three purchases I'll start."
As an ex-smoker for whom it took maybe two dozen tries to permanently quit, I recognize the rhetoric of rationalization.
Posted by: jonnybardo | February 28, 2013 at 08:25 AM
How much you desire or love something (a watch, a woman, a car) seems to be proportional to the effort required and the sacrifices made to get it. Desire for something when you think you might not be able to justify it tests the mettle of the individual almost to breaking point. If you deny yourself, you feel like a stronger person. If you give in, you get that which you desire but you might also feel guilty at having been so weak in succumbing. So, unless you're filthy-rich and can spend money with gay abandon, you can't win.
My approach to this problem is to try a different perspective. As people, we don't think we are inferior to others just because they are richer than us and wear expensive clothes. We have our own good qualities that we can be proud of despite our apparent lack of glamour, glitter and bling. A watch is similar in the sense that even if it isn't made of platinum and polished to an atomic level of smoothness, it can still be tough, reliable and trustworthy when you really need it. If it serves you properly and does its job well, then it's every bit the equal of a prettier, more expensive watch. While more money may well get you more style, i'm not at all ashamed of the quartz chrono Seiko i've been wearing on and off for fifteen years. It has serves me well despite some major knocks and has survived. It's a lot like me in that sense, and I respect it for that more than a $10,000 Swiss timepiece that needs regular maintenance and molly-coddling to keep it going.
Posted by: Ulysses | February 28, 2013 at 08:37 AM
I feed sparrows and cats and other critters every day and get a feeling of satisfaction money can't buy. The best things in life aren't things.
Posted by: Ed | February 28, 2013 at 09:48 AM