Anne Herbert

Love is Tiny Actions of Affection + Kindness

This lovely image and commentary Girl Knew York reminded us of the practice of applying “random kindness” not only to others but to ourselves, and Stephen Levine’s principle of “soft eyes”.

Advice for Monday: Simpler.

After a very busy LAST week, we let a few things slide over the weekend, and they will, no doubt, pile onto Monday’s to-do list, which will make it…daunting.

What to do?

Desmond Tutu on “Random Kindness” and Becoming “Life Artists”

Over the years, we’ve written often about the great Anne Herbert, the extraordinary writer that long-ago coined the phrase “Practice Random Kindness and Senseless Acts of Beauty“, and the curious little book of that name that was published in the ’90’s. Long out-of-print, its charm and power continued to resonate, inspiring an updated edition, now…

The New 10 Commandments and A Few More

We recently came across this tweet from God, with a new set of refreshing and useful commandments. Equally compelling, were tweets sent in response with suggestions for additional commandments. Here are some favorites:

What is the Opposite of Lack, Self-Criticism, Wishful Thinking?

Eagle-eyed Maria Robledo sent us this fab art work (sadly unattributed). We wonder who the wise person/artist is who so clearly expressed the sense of LACK we all so often feel, that goes with self-criticism and imagining perfect worlds that don’t exist. We wonder:

mastery of anything is about practice + overcoming ‘can’t’

David Saltman over at The Houdini File spotted this image on The Art of Kung Fu’ facebook with the comment: Whenever you say “I can’t do it”, think of this photo. All martial arts, including tai chi, are about practice…a lifetime of practice to gain mastery… …And mastery of ANYTHING is about practice, perservering in the…

the origins of ‘random kindness and senseless acts of beauty’

Three years ago, we posted about Anne Herbert, the mysterious writer of Peace and Love and Noticing the Details, a blog that presented haiku-like shifts of view of the the most ordinary things. Herbert is also known for having come up with the brilliant, radical philosophy: ‘Practice Random Kindness & Senseless Acts of Beauty‘, which eventually…

happy valentine’s day ’12 from ‘the improvised life’

Read a Valentine heart shape from top to bottom. and it says the two can become one. Read it from bottom to top, and it says the one can become two with the two still connected. Read a Valentine heart shape as a whole, and it says wholeness is a place to live with room…

‘don’t say yes. be yes.’

Related posts: what is the most powerful word in the english language? bathroom read: john cage’s “a year from monday” yes a reminder, via anne herbert (open doors!) healing worry (via anne herbert) random wisdom, overheard anne herbert’s wise + teeny meditations fling and be flung (jackson pollock)

a reminder, via anne herbert (open doors!)

via Peace and Love and Noticing the Details

healing worry (via anne herbert)

From the always illuminating Peace and Love and Noticing the Details…

how to find a hidden solution

…Another amazing post from Anne Herbert at Peace and Love and Noticing the Details. Whether you believe in God, or some sort of higher power, or not, she really got the gist: …the solutions that we are so sure are the right ones or the only ones, often aren’t…best to not insist, because we just…

ann herbert: unaccumulate

“The answer is zero. Let go of everything that can be let go of. Unaccumulate. Notice a new way of figuring out. If many places are held by nothing at all, more actions are possible. More actions are likely–all that room.” Anne Herbert’s blog Peace, Love and Noticing the Details continues to knock us out, remind…

Fling and Be Flung (Jackson Pollock)

Lately, we’ve noticed several odd and very expressive permutations of the word “fling”. Fling/flang/flung aren’t about flinging some THING across the room, but rather describe a PERSON being catapulted, by life…allowing ourselves to being flung, learning lessons, making discoveries, really living. First we read Anne Herbert’s wonderful post in Peace, Love and Noticing the Details:…

going from “can’t” to “can”

Last week, we read an amazing post by Anne Herbert at Peace, Love and Noticing the Details. She described the limited view we’ve been stricken with many times – and offered a simple way out. It is so perfectly and succinctly written, we’re quoting the whole thing right here: “I can’t do it. All the times I…

anne herbert’s wise + teeny meditations

Kevin Kelly recently wrote about Anne Herbert, a writer he knew in the early ’80’s who edited CoEvolution Quarterly, the companion magazine to Whole Earth Catalog. She is most known for coining the phrase, “Practice random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty.” Kelly hadn’t been in touch with her in all this time,…