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Campbell's soup cans - Andy Warhol |
I love one scene from the movie Caramuru- a Invenção do Brasil. In the 1500s, a Portuguese settler who had recently set foot in Brazil meets a native chief and the Portuguese tells him he should work harder selling food to the white men arriving on the ships in exchange for valuable merchandise. The chief then asks him: “And what do I need more money for?” The Portuguese explains to him that if he earns more money he won’t have to work anymore and he will lie on his hammock all day long. The chief then replies calmly, “but that’s what I have always been doing, and it feels so good…!”
This reminds me of some stories my uncle Celso once told me. A shop owner in a small village in Minas Gerais was always annoyed whenever a costumer appeared when he was having his usual after lunch nap. One afternoon, he was sound asleep after having had a big lunch when a costumer got into his shop and asked him how much a hat hanging near the window cost. Upset for being interrupted he groaned: “I can’t stand the people from this town, as soon as they see something they always wanna buy it!”
He could hardly imagine that progress would soon reach them, bringing a bank to his city and attracting people from all the surrounding areas. A luxury and modern building with blue glass windows was built right next to a small snack bar famous for its delicious meat pies. It is said that some time later, a regular customer asked the seller for one of these pies that were always baked every afternoon. He was surprised by the seller’s reply. He sadly answered in a complaining tone: "There is nothing left!... These guys from the bank next-door eat everything I make!!!”
The so-called naivety of these two men opposes our money centered contemporary view of the world. We are always worried about wealth and figuring a way to make more and more money. The “time is money” capitalistic philosophy makes us immediately think that the fact that all the pies are being sold is wonderful.
The reasoning is quite simple: with the growth in the demand and insufficient offer, the price of the pie could be raised, making it more profitable. He could also make more pies and create different stuffing, increasing the product mix. After a careful strategic planning, he would discover that it was essential to open a few branches or even create a franchising…! He even pictured his product being advertised on the local radio: “Come and have the best pies in the world”! It would be a huge success!!
However, to achieve such a great accomplishment, he would have to abandon many of the things that cannot be measured by economic standards: spend quality time with his family, take naps after lunch or have long and relaxing baths. To put it shortly: enjoy the beauty of everyday life.
One could always ponder that with the profits made from the pies he could pay for a wonderful vacation with his family, having long relaxing baths and taking naps after lunch. But he could wisely say, like someone who really knows better: “but that’s what I have always been doing, and it feels so good…!”
