My favorite chore these days is starting up the woodstove in the morning. I enjoy the methodical process of clearing out the old ashes and building a new fire, and it's very satisfying to watch the flames leap up and stay up.
When cold weather sets in at the Farm, the woodstove is the natural congregating place. On any given night, most of us will be reading or crocheting or just sitting and talking around it. The fire draws us in, but unlike a TV, does not require our unwavering attention. I didn't give this any thought until a recent night when it was warm enough outside not to have the fire lit. After dinner and dishes, everyone dispersed - to their own rooms, to the office, to the basement TV room. Without the fire's warmth and light, there was no gathering.
That got me to thinking about other areas of a home that can be gathering places, and how our modern first-world way of life has eroded that centrality. The kitchen, where food is made and eaten - but people don't spend so much time cooking anymore, and with different schedules, people don't always eat together either. The fireplace - but most homes don't need those for heat anymore. The TV? People may sit together in front of it, but the TV takes our attention away from each other.
Don't get me wrong, I don't think TVs and central heating should be abolished at all. I just wonder if something has been lost, when there is nothing in a home that naturally brings people together anymore. Multiplied over time and a whole society, that lack must foster isolation and solitude instead of community. I wonder.
0 comments:
Post a Comment