Mindful Matter
The legend of Django Reinhardt.
Django Reinhardt is known as one of the best jazz musicians of the 21st century. What’s less known is the story of his incredible resilience. I came across this story while getting lost down a Wikipedia rabbit hole one recent night and wanted to share it with you. Reinhardt was born in 1910 and grew up in a family caravan with his single mother and siblings in a nomadic Romani settlement outside of Paris. Life in the settlement wasn’t easy, so he became skilled at stealing chickens for his family. Reinhardt was also musically inclined and taught himself the violin, banjo and guitar. At the age of 12, he would travel outside of his community to Paris to put on shows. By 18, he was a favorite in Parisian dance halls and beginning to gain international fame. Then the unthinkable happened. One evening, a candle fell into flammable liquid as Reinhardt and his wife slept. Their caravan immediately went up in flames and they barely escaped. Reinhardt was hospitalized for nearly two years with bad burns across his body. Two of the fingers on his left hand were burned with silver nitrate to make what remained of his hand usable, but the doctors doubted that he would ever play guitar again. In a way the doctors were right. Reinhardt was never able to play the guitar as he did before the fire. Instead he changed his technique, creating a new style to accommodate his hand. "Instead of playing scales and arpeggios horizontally across the fretboard as was the norm, he searched out fingerings that ran vertically up and down the frets as they were easier to play with just two fingers. He created new chord forms. . . . He pushed his paralyzed fingers to grip the guitar as well, his smallest digit on the high E string, his ring finger on the B, and sometimes barring his index finger to fashion chords of four to five notes. He then slid his hand up and down the fretboard, employing these chord forms to craft a fluent vocabulary."Excerpt from “Django: The Life and Music of a Gypsy Legend” by Michael Dregni This new style sealed Reinhardt’s status as a music legend. During the first part of the 20th century, he was considered the most famous jazz musician in Europe. This isn’t the only obstacle Reinhardt overcame. His biography includes many fascinating stories (including 2 failed attempts of escaping France in World War II, once where his life spared by a jazz-loving soldier). For many people, a life filled with so many obstacles would kill the spirit, if not the body. But Reinhardt was determined to overcome his impediments and bring his own style to the music he loved so much. In the process, he created an incredible library of music (I’ve been playing his Spotify hits on repeat for the past week). His legacy is a powerful reminder that life can give us obstacles — but it will not be defined by those obstacles, only by how we respond to them. Dave RadparvarCo-Founder, Holstee
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Let it RAIN.
I recently found myself juggling a family emergency and a complex work project, all while trying my best to not completely fail in my role as a husband and father. It’s in moments like these that I have found Tara Brach’s RAIN method especially helpful. Tara is unique in that she combines eastern spiritual practices with a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. RAIN is the acronym of Tara’s four-step process for ‘practicing mindfulness and compassion’ when in a challenging moment and is one of the exercises featured in this month’s Resilience Guide. Here are the steps: R - Recognize what is going onAcknowledge your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Step outside of yourself and recognize any signs of a harsh inner voice, feelings of embarrassment and dread, or noticeable physical manifestations created by anxiety. A - Allow life to be just as it isAllow the experience to be there, just as it is. Do not attempt to alter or avoid it. When defaulting to self-judgment, let the negative emotions exist. It does not mean you are unworthy, it means you recognize painful feelings created by a stressful moment. I - Investigate with interest and careLean into your natural curiosities to discover the truth. Ask yourself, “How is this experience manifesting in my body? What is it that I think I believe? What does this vulnerable place want from me and what does it need most?” N - Nurture with self-compassionOnce you identify the wounded and hurting place inside you, offer a gesture of kindness that might address it. Ask yourself, “Does it need a message of reassurance? Of forgiveness? Of companionship?” Sincerely spark self-compassion and even if it feels awkward, it will start to soothe and strengthen the heart. Take time to explore RAIN as a stand-alone meditation or return to this exercise the next time you face a challenging moment. Mike RadparvarCo-Founder, Holstee
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Grief and gratitude.
Last week our grandfather, or Babajoon as we called him, passed away at the incredible age of 104. His death came just four months after the passing of Mamanjoon, our grandmother and his wife of 75 years. His passing also marked the loss of our last living grandparent. After the news of his death, our family received many comforting messages and words of wisdom to guide this period of grief. One video in particular was shared a few times, first by our cousin and then again by a close friend. It was an honest, heartfelt, and open conversation between Stephen Colbert and Anderson Cooper discussing life after losing loved ones. About 13 minutes in, Cooper says to Colbert: "You told an interviewer that you have learned to love the things that you most wish had not happened. You went on to say, ‘What punishments of God are not gifts?’ Do you really believe that?" Colbert took a moment and responded: "Yes. It’s a gift to exist, and with existence comes suffering. There’s no escaping that. But I didn’t learn it — that I was grateful for the thing that I most wished hadn’t happened. It’s that I realized it... I don’t want it to have happened. I want it to not have happened. But if you’re grateful for your life — and not everyone is, and I’m not always… then you have to be grateful for all of it. You can’t pick and choose what you’re grateful for. Then what do you get from loss? You get awareness of other people’s loss, which allows you to connect with that other person, which allows you to love more deeply and to understand what it’s like to be a human being…and however imperfectly, acknowledge their suffering and to connect with them and to love them in a deep way that not only accepts that all of us suffer, but also that makes you grateful for the fact that you have suffered so that you can know that about other people. And that’s what I mean. It’s about the fullness of your humanity. What’s the point of being here and being human if you can’t be the most human you can be?" Learning to find peace, growth, and even gratitude from our most painful moments — is an incredible act of Resilience. To life, love, and humanity, Mike and Dave RadparvarCo-Founders, Holstee
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Our Next Chapter: Reflection.app — a better way to journal.
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” - Søren Kierkegaard Last week I recapped our 10-year Holstee journey and how it has steered us towards a new and exciting project. This week I am thrilled to introduce you to: Reflection.app — a simple way to start a meaningful reflection practice with an online journal that guides your personal growth each month. From our Reflection Cards, to our annual Reflection Journal, to the exercises in our Mindful Kits, Mike and I are big believers in the power of reflection. Through reflection, we get the chance to appreciate, learn from, and find peace with our past as we take steps toward the future ahead. The challenge is that starting and keeping a reflection practice is hard. It can be difficult to know how to begin, and once you do begin, it can be difficult to maintain with all the distractions life throws our way. For years, journaling has been our go-to tool for reflection. But even when we mastered the habit of writing about our days, there wasn’t an easy framework for looking back on past entries — no guide to help us find patterns in the things that brought us joy, or learnings from the moments that challenged us. It’s a problem we have experienced first-hand, and after speaking with you, our community, we realized we were not alone. Two years ago, we began researching, testing, and developing concepts to solve this problem. We have created, scrapped, and recreated dozens of prototypes (“reflectionapp_mockupv10-7a_copy-v2-final-FINAL1.sketch” may or may not be a file on my Dropbox ;-). Finally, we arrived at a tool that we believe can really help people start and keep a meaningful reflection practice. Here is how Reflection.app works: Daily Journaling Through a simple web interface, you can add daily entries in one of three categories: Highlights - Things that brought you joy. Lowlights - Challenges you experienced. Free Writes - Everything else on your mind :-) (with optional writing prompts for inspiration!) End-of-Month Review At the end of each month, you are guided through your Highlights and Lowlights so you can understand how to grow from them. After, you are led through a short self-assessment in six key areas: Mind - Do you feel clear-headed, engaged, and intellectually challenged? Body - Does your body feel healthy, nourished, and strong? Soul - Do you feel at peace and connected to the world around you? Work - Do you feel interested in and fulfilled by your work? Play - Do you feel joyful? Are you engaging in activities that bring you joy? Love - Do you feel positive about the relationships in your life? Your end-of-month review comes together in one stunning personal monthly report that you can return to at any time. End-of-Year Review At the end of the year, you will have the chance to look back on the whole year. Your daily entries roll into your monthly reviews, and your monthly reviews roll into your annual review. Our goal with Reflection.app is to provide a simple and delightful framework to help guide you through a meaningful reflection practice. A practice that naturally builds on itself by using your entries to guide your reflection, at each step making the next milestone in your life more enjoyable and meaningful. We plan to work closely with our community to continue making this tool as valuable and useful for you as possible. Excited to hear your thoughts! Dave RadparvarCo-Founder, Holstee P.S. Holstee Members — You will get bumped up on the list once you request early access! In addition, we have also been working hard on some new updates for 2020 and we are excited to share those updates. Keep your eye on the private members group for a sneak peek :-)
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Feed your soul.
In our latest Passion Kit (also available in our Digital Guide), we talk about intrinsic and extrinsic values — a key concept in my own path to living fully. Here’s a quick breakdown: Extrinsic values represent external psychological needs such as money, fame, and image (physical appearance). Intrinsic values represent internal psychological needs like growth, connectedness, and helpfulness. I like to think of this distinction as “things that feed my ego” vs. “things that feed my soul”. It’s the “things that feed my soul” that light me up, fuel my passion, and ultimately make me feel fulfilled. And there’s research to back that up. After more than 20 years of study, psychologist Tim Kasser found that living in alignment with intrinsic values correlates with greater well-being. While most people naturally live by a mix of intrinsic and extrinsic values, it’s the intrinsic values that are at the root of personal fulfillment. What are you doing to feed your soul? Mike RadparvarCo-Founder, Holstee
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That one thing that will change it all.
It’s been about 10 years since we started Holstee — that’s almost 1/3 of my life dedicated to building one company. We have experienced wonderful successes, but also our share of challenges. In the early years, during tougher times, I used to hope for that one epic partnership to go through, that one large sale to close, that one journalist to finally reply to an email we sent, or that one product idea that would “change everything”. Ten years later, I’ve come to appreciate that there is rarely “that one” thing that will catapult an idea or business to the next level — there is no silver bullet. Even if you land that big opportunity, it’s just the first step, and more often than not, it’s just the beginning of deep and important work. There is rarely “that one” thing that is going to change everything. Business, like life, is just a series of steps — one after the other. If there is a project you are working on, remember to find joy in the process, step by step and day by day. Instead of constantly waiting or seeking that one thing, allow consistent effort and follow-through to be your greatest strength and source of fulfillment. One step at a time, Dave RadparvarCo-Founder, Holstee P.S. This month in our Passion Guide, we discuss the challenges of identifying passions and how the challenges we experience through them can ultimately contribute to well-being and flourishing.
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In The Studio With Maia "Meech" Boakye
Each month, we are privileged to work with artists from all over the world. Their unique styles and points of view make for an especially diverse sense of inspiration in the art that arrives in our monthly Holstee Membership. From Los Angeles, California to Barcelona, Spain and everywhere in between, each piece of art is a true collector's piece. This month’s Passion Art art is by Maia “Meech” Boakye, an artist and illustrator interested in creating art around a post-internetworld, often juxtaposing the mundane and the absurd. For a little more about what inspired this artwork, process, and their life, here's a short Q&A: Where is home for you? Currently Toronto, Canada. What is your definition of a successful life? One where I have loved and been loved as much as I could have. Describe your perfect day. Taking a really long walk in the sun with some sort of camera. How did you get into design? Mostly out of boredom. I learned how to use illustrator holed up in my dorm room one winter and haven’t stopped drawing since. Where do you find inspiration? Pinterest, Instagram, various forums and e-commerce sites, YouTube. Sometimes I’ll go on walks and find inspiration in something as simple as the lines on the road. Which designers or thinkers influence/inspire you? If I could dwindle it down to a list of illustrators, Love is Wise, Abbey Lossing, Sara Andreasson, Amber Vittoria, Anna Kovecses, Xoana Herrera, Juli Majer, and Kendra Yee are at the top of my head. What was the inspiration behind this design? When I think about passion, it’s hard not to think about love and dreams. I drew this illustration depicting the dreams I’m most excited for, the ones I can’t yet imagine. At the moment, what is your favorite … Color: I’m between a light peachy pink and a sea foam green. Food: Fresh pita with red pepper hummus. Song: Juice by Lizzo Quote: “...the world is composed exactly by and only by surfaces on top of surfaces.” -Domenico De Chirico
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