The thing you reach for daily has won an election your display shelf never held.

Use is a truer vote than display. The shelf holds what you would like to be known for; the mug, the jumper and the chipped bowl you reach for without thinking hold what you actually prefer. Nobody arranged that result, which is why it can be trusted. Daily choices settle into a verdict long before anyone thinks to ask the question.

Look at the three objects nearest your hand right now and take them seriously as evidence. Then look at what has been on show and untouched for a year. Nothing has to change, though it is worth knowing which of the two is telling the truth.