KONMARI is popular thanks to Netflix. Its proponent, “tidying consultant” Marie Kondo, preaches that one needs to tidy up the clutter in one’s closet or work table, to get rid of things “that doesn’t spark joy”.
And it seems instinct that Pinoys make fun of this. A netizen posted how Congress can benefit with the KonMari method by ridding all its congressmen and women. It is no irony that they are called trapos, and their children bimpos. The Kon Mari method would gladly rid us of these trash so our taxes will not be wasted.
Since we live in a messy, miserable state, the KonMari can take full effect in certain ways.
Traffic, be it in Davao or Manila, does spark other things than joy. The KonMari may work to rid the roads of pot holes and under construction sites. But KonMari may not work on street vendors and tambays who eke their living on the streets.
Bureaucracy, such as the long winding lines in BIR, DFA, NSO, PRC is another monster to be slayed by KonMari. Bureaucracy indeed is one big clutter of papers, papers, and papers, that we file, file, file. KonMari can save us from waiting and standing long hours just to process our documents.
Billboards and tarpaulins of candidates do not spark joy. It triggers netizens to cry “epal” alert. Ridding them from the streets can relieve our already stressed eyes.
Fake news and hate posts indeed spark anger. Actually Facebook did its own KonMari by deleting and banning 220 pages from Twinmark Media, a company that produces pages whose content include fake news and baseless political stories.
Tokhang lists, terror lists, have cause much fear on the poor, on the activists. Perhaps cleaning up these lists will stop the paranoia of this state and make us live and breathe better. Actually, KonMari said joy is the basis of how to unclutter our minds.
Perhaps politics needs a bigger fix. But it’s a good idea to find your inner self and see what you value. And perhaps one would see that the mouth in Malacañang doesn’t give you a spark anymore, and let’s try to fix this mess before it’s too late.