Mindful Matter
Kintsugi
Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold. It can also be viewed as a philosophy for life. The cracks in the piece of pottery are part of its story. And the gold used to repair the pottery becomes a natural extension of it. The kintsugi approach highlights the pottery’s unique history, rather than hiding it. It’s the idea that our past and our pains do not need to leave us broken in pieces. Rather, we can fill in the gaps with beauty and be strengthened through them. Our scars can become a gilded reminder of our resilience.
Learn moreBlack Mirror.
I know, I know… “If you don’t have enough time stop watching TV.” But I would be missing something if in all these emails on influences that have changed my perspective, I didn’t mention Black Mirror. This British science fiction series, picked up by Netflix, is a
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Hedonic adaptation.
"If you live according to nature, you will never be poor; if you live according to opinion, you will never be rich." — Epicurus Hedonic adaptation is the psychological explanation of how we
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Finding creative inspiration. (Part III - the last part... at least for now ;-)
I want to wrap up this three-part series on finding creative inspiration with one more book that really helped me understand and connect with my inner creative voice. It was the book Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon. Austin recognizes that so few things we do are
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Finding creative inspiration. (Part II)
Yesterday when discussing creativity, we talked about the importance of showing up — of having the willpower to make time and space for our creative selves. I have always struggled with this. I used to feel that creativity comes when it feels like it, and that I had no control over it. But
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Finding creative inspiration. (Part I)
Responding to our recent “Ask Us Anything” email, Gretchen asked us where we find our creative inspiration. I love this question and there are a few things that immediately come to mind. But I’ll break it down over a few emails so that each idea has its own time and space. I want to start with this TED Talk by
Learn moreIt stanks.
What is the one thing that Beyonce, Tony Robbins, Ronald Reagan, Queen Elizabeth and I have in common? When we
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Always ask why.
Asking "why" is the antidote to "just-because", "that's the way it is", and "because that’s the way we have always done it". In the wise words of Albert Einstein: “The important thing is not to
Learn moreTime well spent.
Tristan Harris leads Time Well Spent, a non-profit movement to align technology with our humanity. Time Well Spent aims to transform the race for attention by revealing how technology hijacks our psychological vulnerabilities, and by demonstrating how new incentives and design practices can make technology align with our best interest. What I love about this TED Talk and Tristan’s work is that it
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