… are like seawater

2008

Porcelain, water, plastic, wood board, wire

The title is from a words from German philosopher, Arthur Schopenhauer, “Riches, one may say, are like sea-water; the more you drink the thirstier you become; and the same is true of fame.”

In the third quarter of 2025 in America, the wealthiest 1% held assets roughly equal to the wealth held by the bottom 90% of Americans combined. And this wealth gap is widening. And this world is unequal and unfair than ever.

We need to stop measuring how rich you are by how much money you have. Instead measure with how happy and satisfy you feel.

In that case, how rich you feel is very different depends on people. Of course one would think having lots of money would be a rich life, even though you have to constantly thinking how to avoid taxes. Standing on the spotlight would be a rich life, even though you have no friends to stand with. Lots of jewelry would make you feel rich, even though you only have 10 fingers for your huge rings. But the other would think that if I can make this jewelry for as long as I can would be a rich life, if I have enough money for a modest living, and good health support, so I can spend healthy time with family, and do what I love. This is my case. Others would say that the adventure to go find a beautiful rock would be a rich life, so he can feel a sense of oneness with the great Earth he stand on, and when he comes back, he can share the story of deep Earth with his friends and loved ones. I think we misunderstood what rich means, or probably by design.

In Japan, once we started making pots to keep crops in Yayoi era, the fantastic decoration on the pots (like Jomon pot) disappeared, and  people started to accumulate wealth. Then unbalance it became and conflicts starts. If you set your goal to have more, you would never satisfy because you never think that ’s enough. There are more to more.  The more you drink the thirstier you become.