Liquid Society
This weekend I went to Brussels for a party. It is only a 45-minute train ride away. On the way there, I scrolled through some stories on Instagram and came across a reflection. It reflects on Zygmunt Bauman's book "Liquid Love: On the Frailty of Human Bonds", and one of the book's main observations: the more flexible and temporary modern life becomes, the more we learn to keep our options open.
The downside is that this logic does not apply as well to all aspects of our lives. The prime example being relationships, the main theme of the book. Let's try to compare looking for a partner to buying an apple.
When buying an apple, one will (probably) take into account the visual coherence, the price, and the origin of the apple. If the apple does not meet our expectations, we can always look at others or go to another store – there are plenty of apples around.
That being said, if the apple is to be used as an ingredient, then the process differs. The visual still has its importance; we do not want a rotten apple in our apple pie, but it does not need to be perfectly round or with the perfect colours. We will build on what it has to bring.
It is easy to start looking for the perfect outcome in every aspect of our lives. Maybe every incompatibility is not a defect. Maybe building is the point.
Even when waiting for the train at 6 A.M at Brussels Central station, after a full evening of repetitive underground music, the concept of our liquid society kept floating around in my mind. I do enjoy the lens through which these ideas from the 90's show our current life.
This Week's Suggestions:
For writing this piece, I read a personal review of someone in their 20's about the book and consulted the Wikipedia page of liquid modernity.
One of the songs that I managed to Shazam throughout the night.
Have a sunny week!
