So much of desire to me is associated with novelty. I want new things—new books to read, movies to watch, journals to fill up. A lot of this is programmed desire, decades of training and influence from consumerism.

To satiate my desire while actually providing something new, not just a repackaged new that is barely different from what I have just consumed, I can look to the past for inspiration.

Where to look for the past as new

  • Past journals
  • Past sketches, drawings
  • Public Domain Archive
  • Book I’ve already read