I rely on my tightly edited instagram feed to bring ideas and wonders right to me when I need them. Then a powerful quote from Saul Bellow sparked an essential question.
Read MoreErling Kagge on ‘The Secret Bond Between Slowness And Memory, Emotion, Intelligence’
“The pace we choose when we walk can be decisive for how we think”, writes explorer and philospher Erling Kagge in Walking One Step at a Time. Apply it more broadly and it becomes a startling life principle that can profoundly shift everyday experience…
Read MoreCall-and-Response to Merton’s RainText: ‘The Beautifully Ordinary’
Every week, unexpected messages fly over my transom, many from stranger-friends who have read something I’ve sent into the world via Improvised Life, in a kind of call-and-response. Like this illuminating beauty from Katherine Davich, a powerful spill of rain memory sparked by Thomas Merton’s RainText.
Read MoreA Spectacular Maasai Jumping Dance Sparks a Transformative Question
We don’t know the deeper meanings of this spectacular jumping dance performed by young Maasai warriors as part of a coming-of-age ceremony. We love the forthright vitality, energy, joy of it, a feeling we want to have starting each day. It got us thinking about Ikigai, the Japanese concept we wrote about a couple of years ago, and the big question it asks.
Read MoreThomas Merton’s RainText: ‘All That Speech Pouring Down’
The very best words on rain we’ve read are from American hermit, mystic, priest, Thomas Merton. He wrote it one rainy night in his hermitage at the Abby of Gethsemeni in Kentucky. It has shown us rain in a new way…
Read MorePictures Hung in Unexpected Places Expand the View
Ever since we spotted this house with framed art on the outside, we’ve been thinking about wonderful places to hang pictures that most people don’t use.
Read MoreThoughts on Miracles (Charlie Allenson, Walt Whitman, Mary Oliver, Cosmos)
A while back, we posted “Let’s Save Charlie’s Life”, about our friend Charlie Allenson who needed a kidney transplant to save his life, Charlie got his transplant through an anonymous donor touched by one of the messages asking for help that Charlie’s many friends and colleagues sent out via social media. It got us thinking about miracles, and we found insight from Whitman, Mary Oliver, and Charlie himself.
Read MoreWays to Honor The Mother Trees (Susan Simard, W.S. Merwin)
We have marveled at Susan Simard since we realized she was the model for the fearless, hermetic tree botanist in Richard Price’s wondrous tree-centric novel The Overstory. Her new book Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Ancient Wisdom of the Forest about the intricate underground communication network trees create and depend upon got us thinking about the perfect gift, for Mother’s day or otherwise.
Read MoreThe Complex Meanings of ‘Languishing’ (Jenny Holzer, Ada Limon, Cesaria Evora…)
“Languishing” perfectly describes the unsettling emotional state so many of us find ourselves in a solid year into the pandemic. We looked deeper into its meaning, and found insight in art, music, poetry…
Read MoreTattooed Tablecloths after Sarah Espeute Spark Maps, Guestbooks, Artifacts
When we first saw French artist Sarah Espeute’s embroidered table linens, we thought they were drawn-on with indelible markers, something we might be able to do. Then ideas and memories began to connect and flow.
Read MoreAlan Watts’ on Laughter and Anxiety
After David Saltman described his remarkable experience seeing Alan Watts give a talk in the 1970s, we hunted down some video of the essential astonishing lesson. Which led to way more…
Read MoreKevin Kelly’s 99 Additional Bits of Unsolicited Advice
Since Kevin Kelly last published his 68 Bits Of Seriously Good Advice a year ago for his 68th birthday, he’s come up with 99 more pieces of wisdom. Like last year’s, it’s a brilliant list, creating something of a guide for living.
Read MoreTool for Living: A Strangely Perfect $8 Spatula
The best eight bucks I’ve spent lately is the OXO’s Good Grips Jar Spatula, a silicone spatula meant for reaching into jars. It’s so curiously-perfect I find myself using it daily for all sorts of kitchen endeavors.
Read MoreListen to a Breathtaking Treatise on Stars (Mei-mei Berssenbrugge + Vija Celmins)
One morning, I found myself listening to poet Mei-mei Berssenbrugge reading Wonder from her book A Treatise on Stars. I was transfixed, calmed, transported by her voice and the story it told. It proved a surprising lesson in seeing stars, and the connection between wonder and not knowing.
Read MoreTool for Living: Hulkenbag, Huge, Stylish, Strong Bag-on-Wheels
My favorite tool of late is the Hulkenbag: a big cleverly-designed open satchel-on-wheels that holds its structure and can be rolled around anywhere. I throw in whatever I need to shlep and go. When I’m done, I fold it up and stash it out of the way. Perfect.
Read MoreMoment of Zen: Auguste Rodin’s Instruction
These words from the famous sculptor’s book Cathedrals of France are such good counsel for visiting a museum or a gallery or a cathedral. For life really, and any part of the day.
Read MoreHenry Miller on How to Know What to Do Next
In this teeny clip found at the great @_nitch, American writer Henry Miller described his essential philosophy of living. It is an amazingly good antidote for anxiety and a guide to how to know what to do next. Which is really the creative process…
Read MoreA Password Strategy That Employs Poetry and Prose
The chart of data sourced from HowSecureIsMyPassword.net shows just how quickly a hacker can brute-force various kinds of passwords, especially the weak grandkid’s-names-type that many people think up. Then there’s THIS solution for making unhackable, easy-to-remember passwords.
Read MoreRewilding Ourselves to Heal Wounds or Illness
In this lovely (refreshing) short film, Laura Owen Sanderson describes how she found healing from a dire illness through wild swimming. For her, the process was a kind of rewilding…
Read MoreMandy Patinkin’s Prayer While Feeding the Dog + Blessings from John O’Donahue and Bob Dylan
From his retreat at his upstate cabin, legendary actor Mandy Patinkin sings in Hebrew as gets his dog Becky’s food for her. We were surprised to discover that what he is singing is a prayer. And that got us thinking about blessings to accompany simple tasks of daily life.
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