Stephen Sutherlin

Notes on Canned Goods

March 22, 2020
I initially started the writing that led to this poem by looking into the actual words that were used.

Fragility the human condition is exorbitantly weak. We really don’t like that fact.

Boxes Maria Kondo put your life into neat little bento boxes— tidy up your life

Mental Boxes when our emotional chaos is present, we work hard to categorize our responses. Tidy up our minds but that is usually mental space filled with work and future planning. Very tidy, our future, in our minds, until plans are disrupted by social crisis.

De-coupling Social Distancing breeds anxiety -especially for extroverts- by hallowing our our group response. When all of a sudden you take away the immediate, physically present, response that we have by being in the same room or the same table when canned laughter is absent you realize that fake laughter that connects you is better than watching comedy dead pan. A comedian of one is not really that funny. We require social interactivity.

And a news conversation that has to wait for delayed interactions, stops people from answering naturally and responding fluidly.

Canned Goods