When we’ve worked hard taking care of something and feel there is still more we should do, leaving us restless and worried, we employ this 10-word reality check, learned from a psychotherapist friend.
Read MoreOpened at Random: A Field Guide to Getting Lost (How to Be Rich in Loss)
The other day, Lisa Morphew opened A Field Guide to Getting Lost to this (and then she sent it our way):
Read MoreBeing Matter of Fact about Failure and Other Lessons from Mary Oliver
Of the many tributes we’ve read about poet Mary Oliver’s passing, the most moving was Summer Brennan’s short remembrance about what her teacher taught her…
Read MoreThe Light Touch in Life that Requires Letting Go
Tired, with his hands shaking, Chris Eldredge didn’t think he’d be able to stack the 7 smooth stones on his table. Then he tried shifting his limiting view…
Read MoreLife Lesson on The Ordinary State of Affairs
During my recent week off to recover from moving house and getting repairs underway to my leak-damaged home, I continued the work of embracing a big life lesson…
Read MoreAnnals of Personal Ritual: Self Portrait in Wedding Clothes Taken Every Anniversary
Fran Black enjoys creating very personal rituals in order to collect memories in ways that feel meaningful, like this unique yearly celebration of her long marriage…
Read MoreFrom Opera to Improv: How Deborah Domanski Found Her True Voice
After years of singing professionally to great acclaim, Deborah Domanski found herself on an unexpected quest to find her true voice.
Read MoreWhy Walking Helps Us Think (Rilke + Ferris Jabr)
Science has proven what painting, poetry, and our own experience know: walking helps us think, and be.
Read MoreMultiple Discovery is Not Plagiarism, But a Reflection of How Connected We Secretly Are
Did National Geographic steal the idea for its cover or is it an instance of Multiple Discovery? I’ve experienced it many times…
Read More10 Ways to Deepen Conversation + the Crap Advice You Should Forget (Celeste Headlee)
We’ve found employing Celeste Headlee’s 10 principles for having a better conversation really DO take the conversation farther. Here they are, including the Crap Advice she advises you forget.
Read MoreBegin Anywhere, Ideas Will Come (Lucio Fontana, Gary Snyder)
Every morning, we take a minute to look at this image of artist Lucio Fontana approaching a blank canvas. It offers an essential insight about creative work as does this tiny poem by Gary Snyder.
Read MoreCreativity is the Work of Sowing Seeds (Brian Eno, May Sarton)
August Sanders’ farmer got us thinking about just how much the creative process is about sewing seeds when we stumbled on these words by Brian Eno and May Sarton…
Read MoreUse Empathy and Observation to Find Simple Solutions (Mileha Soneji)
Designer Mileha Soneji loves to create innovations that aren’t dependent on technology, like the two she created for her uncle with Parkinson’s using a unique approach we can all employ…
Read MoreWhen I Deleted My News Feed My Day Got Longer and Calmer
Inspired by Farhad Manjoo’s revelatory NY Times article, I deleted the news feed on my phone to see if I could “have what Manjoo was having”: more free time, and a clearer head.
Read MorePhilip Roth on Age, Being Alive, Talent, and What Creative Work is Really Like
We found several illuminating hunks in No Long Writing, Philip Roth Still has Plenty to Say, a New York Times interview with the legendary novelist, who retired from writing several years ago…
Read MoreEllen Silverman on Creative Partnerships, Play and Letting the Unexpected Happen
The story of how photographer/filmmaker Ellen Silverman latest photo experiments came about is full of wise insight into the creative process.
Read MoreOur Practice for the Last Week of the Year
We take the quiet last week of the year between Christmas and New Years to relax, unhook from many normal routines, and reflect on the year that has passed so we can envision the New.
Read MoreProductivity Principle: Doing Nothing Can Help Get Things Done
My big lesson in productivity, learned the hard way, flies in the face of the accepted wisdom.
Read MoreEdward Gorey on the Unexpected in Creative Projects + Morning Mantra
When Susan Dworski sent us this hunk of Edward Gorey brilliance, she also shared her own morning mantra.
Read MoreRuth’s Asawa: Art is doing. Art deals directly with life.
Sculptor Ruth Asawa’s work became more moving for knowing some of her life story. Then an astute psychotherapist friend shared his insight into her use of wire in her remarkable sculptures.
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