When I walked along Orchard Road early this evening, while there was still daylight, the newly added decorative frosted glass panels looked ‘pretty’ lame and redundant, taking up space on the walkways while not really beautifying the place. I thought, ‘What an utter waste of public money!’ I next entered a mall to get some stuff. When I exited, night had already fallen.
Lo and behold! The panels when lit became as featured above. Okay… it does look much more interesting now. It was a humbling lesson… that I shouldn’t judge the worth of anything too soon. Our perceptions change when the conditions change too. However, I think the price to pay, in terms of the upcoming electrical energy to be expended isn’t worth it… especially when it’s going to be used to promote material consumerism in this most lavish of city districts in Singapore.
Indeed, the price to pay in terms of long-term and heavy electricty consumption to promote material consumerism can be rather huge.
However, without material consumerism, there won’t be jobs like retail assistants and display panel artists?
These can be considered right livelihood and so people in the retail sector are Buddhists or inclined towards practising the Dharma, they can practise mindfulness in knowing that material consumerism is not something to be encouraged, and also be mindful of its long term disadvantages of encouraging ego and attachment.
Some point in time, they might probably be so mindful that they would probably find other jobs in other industries suitable for their spiritual cultivation and yet pays reasonably well enough to support their basic needs, not wants.