About 80 percent of the stuff I live with is old. I like letting things take on the character they’re meant to have by really being used. … when you own things that have the imperfections they deserve, that they’ve earned from a well-lived life, it frees you from feeling as though they’re untouchable.
Interpretation
Embracing imperfections in possessions allows for a more meaningful and less stressful relationship with them.
Nate Berkus reflects on the value of owning items that bear the marks of age and use, suggesting that their imperfections are a testament to a well-lived life. By appreciating these flaws, one can develop a deeper connection with their belongings, freeing oneself from the fear of damaging or losing something that is overly pristine and thus untouchable.
In practice
In a speech about minimalism, you might quote this to emphasize the beauty of aged belongings.
I see it every day: People trying to create a home that somebody else tells them they should have. I don't care if it's a magazine or a bossy friend - when somebody says, 'This is what's elegant, this is what's trendy,' if it doesn't represent you, you're not going to be happy.
I believe your home tells a story about who you are and who you aspire to be. We represent ourselves through the things we own. I don't believe in trends. I believe in collecting things that you connect with. We should surround ourselves with things we care about, that have meaning.
My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought! _x000D_ My sin, not in part but the whole, _x000D_ Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more, _x000D_ Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
And as for the Jews, who since the emancipation of their sect have everywhere put themselves, at least in the person of their eminent representatives, at the head of the counter-revolution -- what awaits them?
The will is not free - it is a phenomenon bound by cause and effect - but there is something behind the will which is free.
...I will not allow books to prove any thing." "But how shall we prove any thing?" "We never shall.
A nation, as a society, forms a moral person, and every member of it is personally responsible for his society.
When some remote ancestor of ours invented the shovel, he became a giver: He could plant a tree. And when the axe was invented, he became a taker: He could chop it down. Whoever owns land has thus assumed, whether he knows it or not, the divine functions of creating and destroying plants.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.