rules for living

Practical REAL-Life Wisdom from the Very Wise Ann Lamott

When she turned 61, Anne Lamott decided to “take the opportunity to write down every single thing I know, as of today.” It is a seriously good distillation of decades of living from the author of Bird by Bird.

The Deep Internal Realizations to be Had from Fooling Around

In his wonderful TED talk, Gever Tully describes the “deep internal realizations” to be had from having the freedom to fool around, tinker, improvise…

Honoring 9/11

Seventeen years after I watched from my window as the twin towers fell, I remember a powerful message sent from a friend in Italy.

Sister Corita Kent’s Visual Meditations on the Moment

Artist and renown educator Sister Corita Kent’s 1977 series around the theme of ‘the moment’ makes a heartening meditation…

When Things Fall Apart, I Turn to This Powerful Survival Manual

As the challenge that appeared in my life recently continues, I turn daily to the best survival manual I know, and this passage in particular.

10 Enduring Rules for the Creative Life (Sister Corita Kent + John Cage)

This remarkable set of 10 “rules” for creative living and working taught by Sister Corita Kent and John Cage have guided artists for over 50 years.

Using Limitations As If They Were a Tool For Your Benefit

In this unique view of constraints, not having enough —money, help, whatever— can be a good thing…

Questions 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.

How to Recycle Your Outer and Inner Garbage

The New York Times’ 6 Things You’re Recycling Wrong set us straight about a few things. But Epictetus really gets to the heart of the matter.

Opened at Random: Twyla Tharp’s The Creative Habit on How to Be Lucky

This morning I opened “The Creative Habit, Learn It and Use It for Life” to this…

Asking 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.

What Bill Murray Does When He Feels Stuck

Bill Murray never ceases to astonish us for his improvised ways and his very actionable brand of wisdom, like this…

Allen Ginsberg’s Advice for People Who Are Not Quite Sure How Far to Go

This morning we opened Spontaneous Mind: Selected Interviews by poet Allen Ginsberg and found his incredibly wise words of advice…

Ask 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…

10 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.

Opened at Random: ‘Devotions’ by Mary Oliver

This morning, we opened Mary Oliver’s Devotions to this…

Julia Child’s Life Lessons (On Live TV, 1963)

In this short clip, Julia Child attempts flipping a potato pancake — “a rather daring thing to do”— and imparts extraordinary life wisdom when she flubs it.

Shout What You Love (Jessica’s Daily Affirmation)

In this great video, we see a little kid’s unique method of daily affirmations. So we tried it ourselves. It’s both uplifting and energizing.

Ikigai: What is Your Reason For Being?

When a friend sent us a VENN diagram of the Japanese concept of Ikigai last week, we found we couldn’t get its big fat question out of our mind.

Slow Thinking is a Revolutionary Act

During a week away where we forgot to check into Improvised Life’s many social media platforms, we discovered “slow thinking”. It is indeed a radical and transformative act.

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