"On things that matter." Topic

Aristotle said the unexamined life is not worth living. The life without art and beauty is not only not worth living, it is a hell in which we are all alone. I try and surround myself with things that are beautiful. That's why I collect toy soldiers, books of paper dolls, nativity scnes, and my wife collects elephants (not real ones, statues).

This does not mean they are historical or valuable some are, some aren't. Occasionally you run across things that matter. My every day dishes are Phalzgraf potteryware. We have several pitchers (they don't make them any more) the big two quart ones. Excellent for brewing iced tea in. We have several and last year we picked up another which we saw at a flea-market. When we turned it over we saw an inscription in the base. It was from a husband to his wife "On our 38th anniversary, with love, 1983."

I realized that this was a beloved heirloom of a couple who had since passed away and their kids didn't want to save it or valued it. But I value it. I wish I knew more about them, but there is no name and it was from a church flea-market. Maybe it passed through several hands, who knows, but to me that pitcher "matters" because of the inscription and I wonder who they were and how their lives were, and went.

There are other things that "matter" as well. I have two Pfalzgraff Soup Tureens. Did you know that soup, or stew or Goulash tastes better when it is served from a tureen? There's a delight in having the right dish, the right fork, the right method of serving, and serving the dish correctly. These little delicacies are made even more delectable in an age where the modern generation considers it high cuisine ordering their food at a clown's face and having it thrown at them through a hole in a cinder block wall.

The art of writing thank-you notes, of calling cards, or using a beautiful hand painted box to store my wife's pills rather than a bag or a keep-all. All of these things matter.

My Christmas tree is the same. It has to be about 8 feet tall now because of the number of ornaments we have for it. But each ornament is imbued with a meaning. Some are the ornaments we bought at a dirt-cheap bargain basement store in our first year when we barely had two nickles to rub together. Others are all from trips, vacations, good times, or from years of tragedy and bad times, and each one is imbued with a meaning.

These are things that matter. For a wargamer his collectons matters as do his books and his games.

Do you surround yourself that things that matter?

You ought to.

Otto

I enjoy esthetically pleasing things, but somehow, I just don't get attach to them. I appreciate beautiful and emotionally moving literature/music/movies/play/art, but most of all, the communication between people -- verbal and nonverbal. To me, it is the people that matter -- their stories, memories of their smiles/tears/laughter.

I am in my 40s, experienced war first hand, lived in 3 different countries under 3 different forms of government. I prize people, not possessions. To each his own.

The two are not exclusive. However I understand your need for disparagement.

This seems more like a facebook post rather than a discussion of miniature wargames? Or at the very least, General Wargaming is not the board for it?

It's a question of aesthetics and enjoyment of the hobby as a thing of itself, not any utility towards the game.

Do you surround yourself that things that matter?

My relationships with my family and friends are the only things that matter and I am comfortably wrapped in them.

The units and conflicts I game are important only in terms of creating a discourse with others about the underlying themes and ideas. Sometimes this discourse only exists in the playing of the game, other times it takes a life of its own. Always, it seems to consume a lot of beer and wine.

Aesthetics are a luxury. But without the pursuit of refinements everything becomes humdrum or tawdry. As I age, aesthetics have undergone a shift toward "it just doesn't matter". And really, "it" doesn't. What does matter are feelings. I try and surround myself with people who have healthy, contented feelings, about themselves, toward humanity, toward existence, i.e. being alive and continually thinking about that phenomenon.

The Earth and all of its physical artifacts are merely manifesting Existence, including ourselves. Once you start thinking in this vein, all physical things drop away as unnecessary, even distracting or counter to what really matters.

Everything physical or material can be remade, probably better than the "originals", when it comes to that.

Historical artifacts, such as those destroyed by ISIS in Iraq at the present time, are only reminders of an arguable, fading past. What still remains is so small a part of what once existed, that they are anomalies almost without meaning or purpose.

Once you no longer feel any attachment to a material thing it has assumed its proper value in the eternal scheme of things. Our minds, however, will never cease pursuing meaning behind everything that is in our face. We need each other during this life to make any sense out of it all….