To Be a Master of One's Own Stuff

Matthew Crawford's chapter on mastering one's own stuff has led to some answers to my own nameless discontent. I think I have been stuck in the "bored housewife syndrome" that Betty Friedan theorizes is the problem modern women face in her historical book, The Feminine Mystique. Okay, so I am not a housewife, but I can still relate to the women of the 50's and 60's who Friedan was addressing. I too have experienced purposelessness in my life and I think it partly has to do with the fact that I have become a consumer instead of a producer. Our culture teaches us that we gain self-realization and freedom when we buy something new, instead of conserving something old, but we end up being acted upon and not involved in human engagement. We loose ourselves when we are not involved in a true "skilled and active human engagement". I think it is telling that companies like Betty Crocker have picked up on this fact and made their cake mixes with missing ingredients so that the consumer gets to "do" something and feel like they are producing a cake on their own. The "choices" hide the fact that the consumer is not expressing themselves or being creative and since we have been convinced we are doing something for so long that we have forgotten what it was to really be creative.


I have been passive to often, allowing for apathy, purposelessness, and boredom. I think it is something many people of my generation face. We are taught to try to find the most efficient way to get something done or get rich fast, but that in the end that doesn't usually lead to happiness or even contentment. Of course we want the next thing. Passivity has led to discontent because we are so used to being entertained or taken care of by someone or something else so that we can't even entertain or do something on our own anymore. Ironically the excuse is usually that one doesn't have enough time.