“ There’s also this other thing (above right) which is functional: My favorite candleholder ever. It’s beautiful, and no one else can ever buy it, because it was made by an old Italian man in Cetara on the Amalfi coast . I want so many things in my life to look like this, and nothing does.”

So philanthropy under this rubric is not about creating sanctuaries from or alternatives to the demands of capitalism. The benevolence, if you can call it that, is in giving people from the underclass a chance to succeed by its rules. With, of course, very patronizing and constraining surveillance from the funder. It’s neoliberal brainworms all the... See more

“I’m just thinking that ... nobody goes for a walk without there being something that supports that walk outside of ourselves. And that maybe we have a false idea that the able-bodied person is somehow radically self-sufficient.”

The only things I allow myself to feel regret about are past food, clothing, and hair choices. Everything else, I think of as part of my path, my journey. All the steps we’ve taken have led us to where we are. For some reason, in this culture, we always want to win, be right, comfortable, and happy. There is, however, tremendous value in losing, in... See more

As the world grows increasingly fractured, taking the time to engage with strangers has become even more important. The artist and graphic journalist Wendy MacNaughton has created a simple but powerful way for people to connect in an isolated world.

In this audio essay, she shares how she brings people together by having them draw each other in publ... See more

Telling stories is a process of mattering. Who matters? When we tell stories, we make ethical choices about who to bring in and who to leave out. We cannot bring in all of the voices. The voices themselves only come to exist once we recognize them. The in-between power increases the probability that we notice the voices, listen to the voices and in... See more

In practice, consistency is about being adaptable. Don't have much time? Scale it down. Don't have much energy? Do the easy version. Find different ways to show up depending on the circumstances. Let your habits change shape to meet the demands of the day.

Adaptability is the way of consistency.

Loving, whenever in Tokyo, the sensation of so many highly crafted experiences - from eight seat restaurants and tiny bars to owl cafes and artisanal cotton candy shops. Why aren’t there 1000x more of these experiences in all societies? And especially in the USA, what prompted… Show more