Belonging
Naturally Acquisitive
What does it mean to collect?
There is a persistent impulse to gather and keep. Objects are collected for their material, their beauty, their meaning. A shell, a stone, something carried home and held onto.
This instinct extends beyond objects. We collect relationships, experiences, memories, and ideas, forming attachments that shape how we move through the world. These impulses are not incidental but foundational, part of how connection is formed and sustained.
Like other species, we build, gather, and arrange. The act of collecting becomes a way of creating attachment, structure, and belonging.