Did you see this great piece in the NY Times about living without irony?
Whether you've ever considered yourself a hipster or made fun of one - or if you've ever thought about what it means to live authentically - this is for you.
I think about sincerity a lot. As adults, we force every word we speak and action we take through countless filters depending on medium and audience. The blog world constantly glamorizes life with staged photos and fancy outfits. The rest of the world adds nostalgia to every photo with the click of a button rather than giving it the years it needs to actually arrive.
I love the description in this piece of the 4-year-old girl going through daily life without a trace of irony. She likes what she likes and never chooses it based on the opinion of another. She has not yet mastered language to a point that would allow her to speak with the vague, indirect words we use everyday.
In closing, Wampole asks an important question: is an ironic legacy even a legacy at all?
xo.
P.S. It's almost Thanksgiving!
This photo was taken on our honeymoon, north of Sonoma in a Redwood forest.
Good post! I read this article in the Sunday Times and had a similar reaction. I'm a little too old to readily accept the hipster movement's fashion and think it's pretentious. All trends end up seeming that way in retrospect.
ReplyDeleteWith so much irony in our culture, would a sincere person seem childish? It's cute on a 4 year-old. Would it be in a grown up? The Dalai Lama comes to mind. Are you going to try living more sincerely? I've tried to limit my ironic comments to friends over the past year or so. I'm not sure if it helps my relationships, but it makes me feel better to have recognized it.