The Years by Annie Ernaux was published in 2008 and won the Nobel Prize in 2022, 14 years later. THAT’s how complex and original its vision and ideas were; it took a long time to be seen. One passage haunts us, or perhaps better put, has become a question we ask ask ourselves daily.
Read MoreA Question to Maintain Stillness, Attention and Flow
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 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 MoreA Question for The Last Week of a Fearsome Year
As always, we are taking the week between Christmas and New Year’s off. It’s a time to slow way down and reflect on the rough year that’s passed and on the new one we are about to begin, starting with this question from Yoko Ono…
Read MoreHow Much Of Care is Patience? and Other Questions (Chloe Bass)
Compelling signs have appeared in St. Nicholas Park in Harlem, part of the exhibition “Wayfinding” by conceptual artist Chloe Bass. Each asks a powerful question to carry into the week…
Read MoreBuckminster Fuller’s Question for Finding Your Life’s Mission
In the course of our random reading, we love coming upon surprising questions that we can mull during the week to see what answers, information or mindshifts emerge. Our current favorite is from a story about Buckminster Fuller…
Read More9 Answers to Krista Tippett’s Powerful Interview Question Inspire Our Own
This short video compiles some very surprising answers to On Being’s Krista Tippet’s favorite interview question. It evokes “a very fertile place in everybody’s imaginations, whatever their story is…full of questions and searching and softness.” It’s a wonderful question to ask ourselves…
Read MoreGarrett Bradley’s Big Question Transforms Each Day
When we saw this image from New Orleans-based filmmaker Garrett Bradley, we thought: that is a perfect exhortation to start the day. Then we read THIS:
Read MoreBrené Brown’s Life Changing Question: Do You Believe People Are Doing the Best They Can?
When Brené Brown asked herself, ‘Do you believe people are doing the best they can? ‘ she admits to answering ‘Fuck no!’ until she explored it further, which yielded pure, transformative gold.
Read MoreIkigai: “What Makes You Jump Out of Bed in the Morning? and Other Questions That Will Help You Find It
When a friend sent us VENN diagrams of the Japanese concept of Ikigai last week, we found we couldn’t get its big fat question out of our mind.
Read MoreThe Big Fat, Very Essential Question in Neil Gaiman’s Wise Words
As ever, Neil Gaiman nails it. But there’s a big fat, very essential question buried in his wonderful words…
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 MoreA Powerful Question that Cuts Through the Noise
We invite you to ask this question when editing your life down to what is really important, including where you spend your time —and money— online.
Read MoreWe are Still Living with Barbara Kruger’s Questions
Artist Barbara Kruger’s iconic 1990 mural is an artwork for today, and offers an essential lesson about difficult questions.
Read MoreQuestions that Transform Difficult Situations (Jack Kornfield)
At the height of a crisis, a friend sent us this hugely helpful excerpt from Jack Kornfield’s wise book about becoming at ease with the difficulties of life.
Read MoreAsking This Question Every Day Expands Your Sense of Time
Everybody I know, no matter what age or where they live, complains about how fast they feel time flying. Here’s a way to slow it down.
Read MoreJohn Cage’s Clarifying Question About Good and Bad Taste
John Cage’s question of taste is curiously liberating. It helps to gently soften our rote opinions and view of ‘ugly’, making us see more possibilities.
Read MoreAsk This Simple Question to Disarm Your Self-Critical Inner Voice
We found a lovely, simple way to reframe those big existential questions everyone seems to ask themselves about whether they are enough…
Read MoreClarifying Questions to Start Every Day
Over the past few months at Swiss-Miss, we found two related ideas that really hit home and made us think hard about what we really want.
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