💭 Things to return to

In unpredictable times, poetry leaves the safe, familiar ways of knowing and speaking and listens out into new forms of being and creating. It searches for new insights between the known, it fathoms the space between people, between us and the living world, between different ways of seeing and shaping the world. It listens for new ways of being... See more

Mike Kauschke • The Poetic Art of Living in a Time Between Worlds - Emerge

“Desire that arises in agitation is an expression of the ego; desire that arises in stillness is an expression of the soul.”

Haley Nahman • #197: What is "personal style"?

Seriousness saddles the work with a burden. It misses the playful side of being human. The chaotic exuberance of being present in the world. The lightness of pure enjoyment for enjoyment’s sake.

Rick Rubin • The Creative Act: A Way of Being

Develop a keen sense of what you love . Be devoted to the art of finding great and small loves, of nurturing old loves, and kindling new ones.

30 Lessons From Art / Business / Life — Kening Zhu

If I look at things that have turned out well in my life (my marriage, some of my essays, my current career) the “design process” has been the same in each case. It has been what Christopher Alexander called an unfolding .1 Put simply:

I paid attention to things I liked to do, and found ways to do more of that. I made it easy for interesting people

Henrik Karlsson • Everything That Turned Out Well in My Life Followed the Same Design Process

"the creator is an artist above all." yes, that’s what I think may be the most poetic way of stating this conclusion that the world, in large part, does embody beautiful ideas; that if you regard the world as a work of art — first of all, it helps you understand things, and secondly, it’s a pretty good work of art. It has tremendous beauty. It has... See more

On Being • Beauty as a Compass for Truth

“The child says: ‘When I am a big boy.’ But what is that? The big boy says, ‘When I grow up.’ And then, grown up, he says: ‘When I get married.’ But to be married, what is that after all? The thought changes to ‘When I’m able to retire.’ And then, when retirement comes, he looks back over the landscape traversed; a cold wind seems to sweep over it;

Dale Carnegie • How to stop worrying & start living

I’ve noticed that my most age-fluid ( and joyful! ) friends truly understand human frailty.

And when we consistently recognize our frailty, we don’t expect a linear path, nor do we put too much of our value into something that can disappear.

Substack • Age-Fluidity

About half of my friends kind of hate their jobs, so they're moderately unhappy most of the time, but never unhappy enough to leave. This is the mediocrity trap : situations that are bad-but-not-too-bad keep you forever in their orbit because they never inspire the frustration it takes to achieve escape velocity.

The mediocrity trap is a nasty way... See more