Juxtaposition
I walked out of The Plaza Hotel “somewhat” surprised. Just a few minutes ago at the Angelo Galasso store in the hotel, I saw a pair of shoes for sale. A very nice pair of shoes indeed, crocodile leather, with big AG letters on top made of white gold and a good number of diamonds on them and a price tag of… $135,000. That left me puzzled. As I was walking out of the hotel into the summer heat, I noticed a strangely moving man in the fountain right in front of the hotel. As I got closer, I noticed a well worn wheelchair and suddenly a whole picture opened up. A one legged man was picking pennies from the fountain floor. He had difficulty moving around with one leg. After a few minutes he lay down just to cool down and refresh a bit. That stirred my emotions- the poor man, the fountain with pennies and a pair of hundred thirty five thousand dollar shoes. That is a very emotional juxtaposition.
Going against the flow (consumerism)
An active propaganda machinery controlled by the world’s largest corporations constantly reassures us that consumerism is the path to happiness.
The best things in life aren’t things.