mindset

5 Short Fierce Statements that Help ‘Dig a Cave into the Future’

In the face of relentlessly bad news, I randomly came across some powerful statements that snapped me awake from the daze I found myself in. Maybe they will do the same for you.

Uplift and Surprise Sparked by a Jane Hirshfield Poem

We’re loving Jane Hirschfeld’s wonderful poem I Wanted to Be Surprised. It is the lens through which we’ve been looking to discover uplifting…surprises…

5 Hopeful Views that Counter Coronovirus Fear (Science and Art)

Over the past week, I’ve been collecting information and video that yield heartening-yet-realistic views of the frightening situation we are experiencing together, from wise-men scientists explaining the science, to singers joining together virtually to serenade the world.

Sir Patrick Stewart Reads Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116, Soothing Reminder of Love in the Time of Coronavirus

Sir Patrick Stewart choose Shakespeare’s sublime Sonnet 116 to read in this fearful time. Utterly soothing, affirming, beautiful.

A Poem to Transform the Pandemic

We had not heard of poet Lynn Ungar before we saw her poem Pandemic. It offers a deeply affirming way to view this “strange and terrible” time, referencing an ancient practice.

Quarantined, Italians are Singing out of their Windows + Mary Oliver

As grim notices come in announcing closings and suspensions due to the Coronavirus, we saw THIS video from Italy and had to smile, heartened…

“I am Art”, A Rhapsodic Proclamation about Art and Making

In a 2012 talk at AIGA, Zach Lieberman, cofounder of the School for Poetic Computation, read the short, powerful ‘I Am Art’ out loud. It is one of the most astonishing and rhapsodic proclamations of art-making we’ve seen and totally nails the exhilaration art brings.

Toni Morrison: What to Do In Times of Dread

On the great instagram Nitch, we found an excerpt from an essay Toni Morrison wrote for the Nation in 2015. It seems an extraordinarily fitting message for THIS very dark time.

Thomas Ashcraft’s Hopeful Reminder in Fearful Times

Over the years, artist-scientist Thomas Ashcraft has made artful iterations of a message that we’ve found deeply heartening. Especially so now, in this anxious time…

Sonny Rollins on Losing Yourself In the Divine and His Sabbatical Playing on the Williamsburg Bridg

This sublime short film is about “saxophone colossus” Sonny Rollins’ two-year musical sabbatical playing on New York’s Williamsburg Bridge and what he found there.

A 16-Second Film’s Moment of Zen Sparks Haiku and a Writing Practice

In this 16 second film, a blow torch + hair dryer + popcorn makes for a curiously zen moment. We found two haiku to go with it. Then we remembered our friend Tim Chegwidden’s timed poetry-writing practice…

The Pleasures of Unframed Artwork Directly on the Wall, Naked

Experiencing Rondinone’s massive painting nailed directly to the wall got us thinking about enjoyable and…intimate…an experience unframed art can be. Along with a simple way to hang it.

Take a Lousy Book and Make it into Poetry, like Mary Ruefle’s Beautiful Erasures

We were knocked out by selections from poet Mary Ruefle’s beautiful ”erasure books”, poetry made by whiting out words in old books. We also discovered Wite-Out is a potent, paint-like art material.

Useful Wisdom from Books about Nothing

Without realizing it, I’ve collected a few books about “doing nothing”, one for kids and a couple for adults. All have unexpected wisdom to offer.

How to be Clear: Walk the Wind with Natalie Diaz, Ada Limón, Theo Jansen

Uitwaaien is an untranslatable Dutch word for a simple, transformative practice you can do almost any time. I came to understand it more deeply through art and poetry that expands the meaning of “air”.

Sea Change Can Be Contagious (Susan Dworski, W.S. Merwin)

In posts and emails, I shared the questions fueling Improvised Life’s new architecture and many changes. Among the deeply affirming messages I received from readers, the most interesting was from long-time contributor Susan Dworski. She wrote of the contagious aspect of this sea change.

What is Your Medicine?

Recently, a doctor I know asked me the remarkable question “What is your medicine”. The answers have nothing to do with pills and are unique to each of us, surprising and powerful.

9 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…

Yoko Ono’s New Year’s Wish

A few days ago, Yoko Ono posted this remarkable message on her instagram, a perfect New Year’s wish. We’ve found some compelling images to go with it, and Ono’s spare, powerful recording of “Imagine”.

Mister Rogers on The One of the Simplest Yet Rarest Gifts We Can Give

In this short video clip, the remarkable Fred Rogers describes one of the most powerful gifts he was given in his life, and got us wondering how we can give, and encourage it ourselves?

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