things that never cease to amaze me

One minute, I am pulling the last trash bag out of its box and putting it in the trash can. The next minute, I am taking the box that just a second ago held that bag and putting it in the bag. Their roles and functions have been completely reversed in fractions of a second.

I think what amazes me about this is the fact (a) I'm not exposed to much in the way of excitement these days and (b) that it had never occurred to me that objects go from being useful to being trash in the blink of an eye.

Then it occurs to me that (b) is almost a general rule. We may only perceive it gradually, but basically, things are useful one second, and useless the next. It always happens in the blink of an eye. So what sticks out here is the fact that this isn't just an object that has outlived its usefulness. That box's function was to convey the very trash bag that will become the box's coffin. It has to sting a bit. Not only have you outlived your usefulness, but when the sentence of your obsolescence is handed down, you are put inside of the thing you held just a second ago.

I want to say this is analogous to something else, but I can't imagine what. I think about it every three to four months, which is to say, whenever we run out of trash bags. I am only mentioning it because it has consistently intrigued me for a couple of years now.