Shiyao
When I was a child, I have realized I have one thing that makes me different from other children, that I was an animism.
This is what the current internet defines animism: “the attribution of a soul to plants, inanimate objects, and natural phenomena.” This is just to simply put the idea into words, but can’t quite describe what it actually is. As an animism, I usually see the life force in inanimate objects. And the worst cases usually happen to me as a child - from the scratch paper lying on the floor, to the gift wrappers being teared down. The way inanimate objects being treated (and see myself being educated to treat them the same way) sadden me. My mother has a sensitive eyes and a beautiful soul, so she often keep the gift wrappers and re-use them as art and re-give to me as gifts.
Growing up is a process of closing some empathetic doors. I have slowly changed myself to accommodate to this material world - I became someone I would not wish to become as a child. But as an adult, I became who I needed to become and also learned that one could not possibly perform a functional life with being overly empathetic.
Rather to abandon one of the two conflicted philosophies, instead I’m searching for a balance to keep them both alive. I still often find connections to inanimate objects and small things around me. This time, I decide to give them a name as they always deserve. I call them “seeds” but they can simply be anything - a seed is a belief that can be plant into people’s mindset and simply let them view inanimate objects in a more beautiful way.
Indeed, some of the inanimate objects provide us the warmest memory - a blanket, a bottle of perfume, a piece of bread, and the rocks that stack up to make the beautiful trail we hike or step on everyday. Through this small video narration, I want to re-connect with my childhood and encourage everyone to connect with the inanimate object around them and try to learn to appreciate them.
