I came back from my lunch break today to find a co-worker of mine playing with a water wiggler. I had never seen one before and at that time, I didn’t even know the name. They’re these little plastic things that contain colored water and they move so fluidly in your hands. It’s not easy to describe, but she saw that I was easily fascinated by it.
Indeed, I was, and before too long, she’d brought another one over still in the package and I bought it. It was a worthwhile spending of 88 cents. I just could not get over the whole night this thing moving up and down in my hands and how it’d fall to the ground sometimes and I’d just scramble for it.
What point am I making? My first point was simply in explaining my fascination to people is that I am easily fascinated. The things everyone else considers corny and childish, I can so often love. I find it quite difficult to lose wonder in something once I start to have a love for it. (Assurance there for who ever my Mrs. is one day.)
I ponder that in contrast to our society of mass consumerism. Of course, we all buy new things every now and then. However, I believe we live in a society that more and more believes that you have to keep buying new things in order to be happy. I even saw on a TV gameshow today a quote that someone had calculated that happiness costs 4.8 million. A lot of us somehow made it without that much money.
I was discussing this with a friend of mine yesterday. Since being in my own place, I’ve found I’ve had to cut my budget a lot on the things I always wanted to buy before. However, I’ve actually found that I’ve never been happier. This friend of mine buys new stuff constantly and has often called me to tell me that he’s bored.
Could it be we’ve lost sight of old joys? I grew up in the video game age. When I see children buying the latest Zelda for instance, which I do want to play someday, I tell them that they missed the golden age. You want to play real Zelda? Go home an download the original Legend of Zelda. I played that in the late 80’s. I have the Nintendo Collector’s edition disk with that game and 3 other old ones on it and I can thoroughly enjoy putting that one in still.
It’s those past joys that I find myself returning to again and again. Those are the ones that give true satisfaction. I’ve looked through the strategy guide for Twilight Princess, the new Zelda game, and I keep saying “Wow! This enemy was in the original! This one was in Ocarina of Time!” It’s those connections that bring the joy.
Maybe instead of buying so much new, we should rejoice in what we already have. Let us look to the good of the past and celebrate it. Let us also remember that there is one who has ceased creating since day 6 and his creation should not have lost its wonder on us. If God finds pleasure in creation and God is easily fascinated by it, so should we be.
And even more, let us be delighted in him.
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