Where we live is important in understanding who we are.
I don’t just mean the environment or the climate, although those things are certainly important. I mean more that aspect we think of as culture.
Not culture in the sense of theatre, opera and so on. But culture in terms of an approach to life, a focus on certain activities, a set of values and priorities which all influence design and choices.
The interaction between ourselves and the environments and cultures in which we live is a constant two way feedback loop. We are influenced by what is around us, and that influences our choices. Our choices then change the environment around us and fashion a culture. And then back around again..being further influenced by what is around us.
I think this photo I took the other day captures something of the culture of France. Or at least of the part of France where I am living now.
It says something about priorities. It says something about a connection to Nature and seasons. It says something about a kind of economic activity. It says something about aesthetics and design.
It’s hard to define the culture we co-create, but living it is clear.
Living it is a different kind of knowing from defining, labelling and categorising.
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