This morning we opened at random All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr to this:
Read MoreThe Remarkable Last Question in Barbara Hammer’s End-of-Life Exit Interview
An end-of-life “Exit Interview” is in itself a remarkable and startling thing to undertake. No less the answer to the last question.
Read MoreInstructions from Mary Oliver
Recently, we received an email from Susan Dworski, artist, writer and frequent contributor to Improvised Life. It’s subject line read, simply “Instructions”
Read MoreThomas Merton’s “Small Message of Hope”
Trappist monk and theologian Thomas Merton addressed the difficulties and rewards of being oneself in the modern world, with heartening words on navigating the way through.
Read MoreFrancis Alys’ Magnetic Shoes, “Walking is a Kind of Resistance”
Artist Francis Alys took daily walks through Havana in his magnetic shoes collecting scraps of metal lying in his path. Here’s his remarkable commentary on walking a city.
Read MoreExtraordinary Words on Ordinary Things
In the course of a week, we came across some extraordinary writings secreted in the most unlikely places, in plain site.
Read MoreMiracle of Transformation: An Easy Way to LactoFerment Foods at Home
Having tried and failed with my own lacto-fermentation rig, I found a tool and two books that made for satisfying success in my fermentation experiments.
Read MoreEnvelope Poems are Amazing to Receive (Rumi + Emily Dickinson)
Even if it had not come in a hot pink envelope on Valentine’s day, but in an ordinary envelope on an ordinary day, it would have been as powerful…
Read MoreBecause Something is Invisible Doesn’t Make It Any Less Fun
We got a big smile on our face when we saw this surprising, very magical little video. It is charming, and, as Swissmiss put it so perfectly: HAPPINESS.
Read MoreAnnals of Found Art: “To See that Pebbles are Miraculous” (Josef Albers)
Several remarkable art installations appeared in the park across the way, including one gorgeous kinetic one made of ice and stone. They called to mind Josef Albers most famous quote.
Read MoreHow to Read a Heart (Anne Herbert)
We’d never thought what a Valentine heart could mean beyond a general feeling and expression of romantic love until we read these words by the great Anne Herbert…
Read MoreEcumenical Money Valentine to Give to Lovers AND Friends
We’re thinking a dandy little heart made of folded money would make a nice valentine for just about anyone…more inclusive than the usual romantic stuff like flowers and chocolate…
Read MoreBy viewing time as something incredibly delicious, would we feel like we have more of it?
A random sign got us wondering if shifting our view about time would, in fact, make us feel like we have more of it.
Read More‘One Breath Around the World’s Transcendent 3 Minutes with Whales
Shortly after we viewed these perfect 3 minutes in champion free diver Guillaume Nery’s transcendant, voyage through waterscapes around the world, we stumbled on the perfect accompaniment…
Read MoreOn Being Prepared For Joy: Iridescent Readiness (Christian Wyman)
In a snippet from a long interview, poet Christian Wyman asks and answers: Can one really just decide to be more joyful?
Read MorePlease Take Your Shoes Off! What’s Really On the Bottom of Your Shoes
Beyond notions of “better vibe”, there are some very good reasons to impose a “shoes-off policy” at home, including the mighty scary ones we’ve just discovered…
Read MoreHow To Change a Negative Habit
Over the years, I’ve learned that change doesn’t happen over night, but it WILL happen if I practice these five steps…
Read MorePerspective: Politics 75 Years Ago, via The New Yorker
Things seem so dire politically, that we jumped on to the New Yorker’s cartoon bank to see if we could find something that would lighten things up a bit.
Read MoreMacfarlane’s Remarkable Twitter Feed: Flashes of Illumination about Landscape and the Human Heart
Though we’re not fans of Twitter, we are enthralled by British writer Robert Macfarlane’s feed for its remarkable ability to connect us to nature, landscape, heart…
Read MoreWe Enter the Woods without Leaving Where We Are (Wendell Berry)
Stumbling on Wendell Berry’s short poem Woods*, we realized that Berry has performed a feat of magic.
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