It's been a difficult December so far, with all the misery that has been in the news — and more that hasn't. It seemed I was going to spend the last few weeks of the year in a deep, dark place, and that wouldn't have boded well for the festive season. I was certainly going to need a lot of good cheer.
Then I attended the latest exhibition at the Queen Savang Vadhana Foundation. The event returned my positive attitude toward life.
The main part of the exhibition is a comparison between the original and the current royal residents of Srapathum Palace, Queen Savang Vadhana and her great-granddaughter, HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn.
It essentially explains how the Princess is carrying on the vision of her great-grandmother in every sense of the word.
But that is not for this column.
It wasn't the elevated, royal elements of the exhibition that drew my interest. It was the display of things that we would normally overlook.
For example, there was an installation of ballpoint pens used by the Princess. Each pen had been used until there was no more ink left. The pens were lined up haphazardly on a large white canvas.
It made me think.
I love writing with pens. But what with computers, iPads, smartphones and voice recorders, there is less and less opportunity to actually write with pen and paper.
I have a drawer full of pens. As a journalist, I am given a lot of pens for different occasions and I tend to hoard them. Sometimes a new one comes along that catches my eye, and immediately I'll switch to it from the one I'm using. I'm probably using at least three different pens at a time — one in the car and two in my handbag, not to mention the ones I use at home.
Yet I hardly remember ever having to refill the ink. How many people refill ink today? Disposable plastic pens have done away with the need to change anything. Just use and throw away. Life is so much easier, isn't it?
I recently had to search for a refill for my diary pen, which is smaller than your usual pen. It had to visit four different pen counters before I managed to find one. Some counters had simply decided not to stock them any more, since no one was buying.
I rarely ever use any other pen right till the very end of its life. And yet here was our Princess — who probably has more pens given to her than an entire public school could use in a lifetime — using each pen to the last drop.
It brings to mind the much-circulated image of His Majesty the King's toothpaste, which had been rolled, squeezed and flattened until there was absolutely nothing left in the tube.
The fact that resources are plentiful does not mean you should use and discard at random. Everything has value, no matter how small, and we should respect that value by making every little bit count.
For the Princess, the same goes not only for pens, but for everything else.
Apparently when the Princess was young, she would use each pencil until it was a stub. Then she would extend its life by using a pencil holder. Only when there was absolutely no way the pencil could be sharpened and used did she take it to her lady-in-waiting to exchange it for a new one.
There were also displays of some of her bags, particularly a carry-on bag that Her Royal Highness used for plane trips to carry all her knick-knacks. Her ladies-in-waiting had nicknamed the bag "Khun Hiew (Royal Sag Bag)", because it had been used until it had lost its shape and form, and was literally falling apart at the seams.
Again, I am given so many cloth bags and other trendy carrier bags that I can afford to choose which one I'll carry each morning. Though I don't change very often — changing bags is a hassle, and you always misplace something you suddenly need that particular day — I also hoard all the cute bags, so I know whenever I want to change, they'll be there.
But have I ever used a bag until it falls apart at the seams? Never.
I think it's perhaps time to be more respectful of the little things in life, and not get carried away with the "disposable" lifestyle.
On that note, I will bid you all a happy festive season. See you next year!
Usnisa Sukhsvasti is the features editor of the Bangkok Post.