Zen - disregarding its actual definition - has come to mean anything taken down to its essential qualities/attributes/parts. This toothbrush holder is Zen because it is one clean color and two simple parts. The American appropriation of Zen has become an essential weapons system in the battle of the trendy versus the extravagant. The meaning of Zen has and has not been completely lost in that the original purpose is clearly out of sight and mind, but the realization of the beauty of things essential and simple is not. Is a Zen toothbrush holder a good thing? Hardly. Can it be prevented? No. Is there an up side? The question has multiple answers, all of which may be valid. Zen in its original form, however, has been lost.