Nothing

“Nothing – for the person who has everything” it proudly announced “The gift of nothing is yours to discover...” it added.
“Congratulations! You have received the gift of nothing. Absolutely nothing. This is the ultimate in minimalism. Less is more, more is less”
“Nothing is precious. Nothing is simple. Nothing is sacred.
“Open the pack and be enthralled when nothing happens. Allow nothing to flow through your mind and calm your soul. Savour the moment. Soon you will discover that nothing is so much better than something.”
“Instructions: step 1: Carefully open the pack.Step 2: Experience nothing.”
“Contents: The sound of one hand clapping: the hole in the doughnut; the thing that goes bump in the night; the sound of a tree falling in the forest when no one is there to hear; the incident that no-one talks about; the bashful achievement.”
“Warranty: This product is guaranteed to do absolutely nothing. If something happens return for a full refund.”
“Warning: Nothing ventured nothing gained. If any of this is swallowed, please consult a psychiatrist immediately.” 
Nothing? Rather a lot of something with a conveniently shaped hole at the top for its packaging to slide onto display in some trying-hard to be upbeat “retails outlet” (as shops now have to be called).

Nothing? Something given by someone who cares, or cares at least enough to spend some time and money purchasing and sending this item of amusement.

Nothing? The concept child of a designer, or worse, a “creative team”, whose livelihoods rests on generating such off-the-shelf send-in-the-post give-as-an-“ungift” amusements that function as tokens in the games of social-bonding that we play.

Nothing? A vehicle for cultural references and a play of ideas that may, for a moment, amuse; a product of a civilisation and of the cross-fertilisation of civilisations.

Nothing? A commodification of social desires and cultural meanings packaged and delivered as part of the functioning of the wealth creating economic machines that deliver profits and drive up share-holder value.

Nothing? The yield of years of education and leaning on the part of those who conceived it, who designed and created it, who engineered and marketed it.

Nothing? The result of investment and financing, of banks and investors, of insurance and underwriters, of cash-flows and reporting, of contracts and logistics, of orders and deliveries, of fixed capital and working capital, of loans and overdrafts, of statements and invoices, of debits and credits, and all of the management and accounting that goes into the getting it there in stock and ready for the consumer to buy so that it might be sent and received, and perhaps enjoyed.

Nothing? The result of all of the physical work it took to shape and form it, to pack and transport it, to order and display it, and ultimately to post and receive it.

Nothing? Something that could not have been conceived, or even technically made, at almost any-time in history until the last half century; and which would have been meaningless to most humans that have ever lived; its meaning lying not in what it is, but in the few lines of words printed on its packaging – this nothing that is not nothing to those who can read its legend.

Nothing? A dome shaped blister pack with air in - air that was trapped when the blister was formed in what-ever strip-light lit factory in who knows where that exists for the purpose of making blister packs; air that was thus enclosed by the button pressing supervision of a shift worker whose economic contribution to the human population of this planet was to spend time pressing the buttons that ran the machine that formed the blister.

Nothing? A blister formed of clear plastic extruded to conform to the designed shape; plastic that was itself a product of chemical engineering that started with oil as a raw material; oil that had lain for more millions of years than you can think of deep under the ground in a far off county; oil that was piped, shipped, refined and then transformed into the shape it now has – a blister pack containing a space with air inside.

Nothing? The resultant of all of the energy expended and carbon-dioxide generated in creating the materials from which it is made, in forming it, in packing and shipping it, in transporting it to and collecting it from the shop where it was purchased, in wrapping and posting it, in delivering it; and in part in all of the energy expended and carbon-dioxide generated in creating and maintaining all of those systems that enabled that to happen.

Nothing? A non-biodegradable product that will last far longer than either the person who sent it or the person who received it, or perhaps even longer than the species to which they belong: an unintelligible enigma to whatever or whoever may come after.

Some nothing.