We know lots of poems of gratitude but only one that manages to express thanks amidst the very hard things that befall us in life. It is remarkable and hard and heartbreaking and heartening, echoing perfectly that which we are living now… ‘Thank you’ helps us navigate.
Read MoreAtul Gawande’s Solid Science: 5 Keys to Lifting Lockdown
Amidst contradictory guidance from the government, we’re putting our faith in wiseman physician Atul Gawande’s carefully-reasoned approach.
Read MoreA 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.
Read MoreSonny 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.
Read MoreA 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…
Read MoreHow 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”.
Read MoreListing What You Like Yields Mighty Benefits and Poetry
At the great Artist’s Prints and Multiples, we came across these inspired fridge magnets. We realized that making lists of “likes” can provide the same benefits as counting blessings AND work curiously like poetry…
Read MoreRichard Feynman’s Simple Technique for Learning Just about Anything
Richard Feynman, the brilliant Nobel physicist and “great explainer”, devised a simple 3-step technique for learning things. We’ve found it mightily effective and for preparing for a talk or workshop.
Read MoreRevelations from Living with A Book Left Open
Although I’ve often left art books open around my space so I could live with an image, it only recently occurred to me to do that with a volume of tiny, powerful poems.
Read MorePrivate Office Rituals That Make Work Better, Deeper, Richer
Accepted for artists, rituals are taboo in the business world even though they can enhance productivity and well-being. Peter Bregman tells how to use them in any setting (once you understand what they really are and do.)
Read MoreDon’t Know What You’re Doing and Think Everyone Else Has It All Together?
We’ve lost count of the times we’ve thought “We don’t know what we are doing!” We got some perspective from 4th-century Chinese Taoist philosopher/poet Chuang Tzu…
Read MoreBy viewing time as something incredibly delicious, would we feel like we have more of it?
A random sign got us wondering if shifting our view about time would, in fact, make us feel like we have more of it.
Read MoreOn Being Prepared For Joy: Iridescent Readiness (Christian Wyman)
In a snippet from a long interview, poet Christian Wyman asks and answers: Can one really just decide to be more joyful?
Read MoreHow To Change a Negative Habit
Over the years, I’ve learned that change doesn’t happen over night, but it WILL happen if I practice these five steps…
Read MoreWhy Napping Is Essential to Well-Being and How To Do It (with Haiku)
Sleep researcher Damien Leger is determined to dispell modern-day guilt about fatigue and napping, because, he says, it is an essential practice, not a luxury of the lazy or entitled…
Read MoreInstead of Resolutions, a Transformative Record of Surprise
While reflecting on the year gone by, I came across a unique way New Years can transform that is far more powerful than the usual resolutions.
Read MoreOpening Poetry and Art Books at Random Each Morning Sparks Hope (Naomi Shihab Nye + Joseph Albers)
Because we are aware of the dark side of things, we’re always on the lookout for antidotes and reminders of other ways of seeing. This morning, we struck gold.
Read MoreAnnals of Found Art: Cathedral of Vines (with Haiku)
We frequently stumble on objects that are readymade artworks unto themselves. If we saw them in a gallery, we would ponder them in the way we do “real” art.
Read MoreUnexpected Mandalas To Take With You (Meg Hitchcock)
Meg Hitchcock’s assemblages of letters cut from sacred texts remind us of mandalas: harmonious images designed to create a calm, meditative feeling.
Read MoreHow to Live Wisely With Your Phone
School of Life’s How to Live More Wisely with Our Phones is a remarkable essay about how we can gently balance our relationship to our smart phones. Here are the most useful and view-shifting hunks.
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