In an Illustrated Interview, the New York Times asked artist Maurizio Cattelan What would you invent to make life easier?

His answer: A pause button.

Press his button and things instantly “stop”, and go utterly quiet. (Sample it here, at .24)

YES! We all desperately need the ability to pause. But until an instant pause button is invented, here are some we thought of…

A screensaver reminder-to-pause, take a few minutes to stop, settle, listen, go to a park, look at art, a poem, clouds, anything uplifting…

pause phone screen

…Naps are one of our favorite ways to pause…

Maira Kalman
Maira Kalman

For us, one of the most instantaneous ways to pause comes by immersing ourselves in quiet. And the way we do that in the noisy city we live in is via Bose noise-cancelling headphones (often without music). They are like instant meditation and worth every penny.

Bose-noise-cancelling-ear-buds

(A cheap, but not quite as soothing, alternative is foam earplugs. These are the best we’ve found.)

Take ‘A Do Nothing Day’

Grant Snider
Grant Snider

…go AWOL…to a clear space…

?
?

…virtual or otherwise (Video link HERE.)…

If you’ve found illumination, joy, or inspiration in this post, please consider supporting Improvised Life. It only takes a minute to make a secure donation that helps pay our many costs. A little goes a long way towards helping Improvised Life continue to live ad-free in the world.

Support Improvised Life ♥

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *