Image by BestInPortugal.com
If it was the habit to admire the good and the exceptional, this rectangular country would be different. It seems like we turned upside down the natural flow of things, concentrating instead on what is bad, what doesn’t work and what is worthless. Like if this made us feel better in a bizarre way. We seem to relinquish the drive to be among the best and direct the spotlight on the mistakes and flaws – preferably of the others. This dark celebration gives us the comfort and contentment of mediocrity. This goes on eroding our veins and weakening our pulses. Are we all this way? Definitely not. But this is the current Zeitgeist.
This rectangular country, in which we feel trapped in a boat, notwithstanding all the sea that we have, needs a (collective) decision to let us set our sails; of another way to look ourselves in the mirror; of a constructive attitude that contrasts with critique for the sake of criticism. We feel compelled to get a pencil, one that has a fluorescent tridimensional trace and go wandering around to underline pieces of beauty: highlighting windows, street corners, bridges and houses. Underlining the school teachers that teach our children with dedication, the managers of companies that drive our economy, musicians, bricklayers, cashiers and all those that contribute positively, no matter where they work. Making sure that everybody is able to appreciate the best; on what has beauty and grace. Beauty is somewhat of a unique and perceptible drawing: it contains a myriad of combinations of small details that resonate when they are put together, result of which makes us and the rest of the world wanting to reach farther on. It produces an uncontrollable change which carries us away. It acts as a catalyst and occurs in all territories. This rectangular country, that suits the old and the young alike, needs people that go rambling on the streets and places, with colorful eyes wide open – carrying a pencil and… underlining.
Photo credits: Guta Moura Guedes
Article written by Guta Moura Guedes , Director of Experimenta Design and translated under permission by BestInPortugal.