50 Short Rules for a Better Life (From the Stoics)

Focus on what you can control.
You control how you respond to things.
Ask yourself, “Is this essential?”
Meditate on your mortality every day.
Value time more than money/possessions.
You are the product of your habits.
Remember you have the power to have no opinion.
Own the morning.
Put yourself up for review (Interrogate yourself).
Don’t suffer imagined troubles.
Try to see the good in people.
Never be overheard complaining…even to yourself.
Two ears, one mouth…for a reason (Zeno)
There is always something you can do.
Don’t compare yourself to others.
Live as if you’ve died and come back (every minute is bonus time).
“The best revenge is not to be like that.” Marcus Aurelius
Be strict with yourself and tolerant with others.
Put every impression, emotion, to the test before acting on it.
Learn something from everyone.
Focus on process, not outcomes.
Define what success means to you.
Find a way to love everything that happens (Amor fati).
Seek out challenges.
Don’t follow the mob.
Grab the “smooth handle.”
Every person is an opportunity for kindness (Seneca)
Say no (a lot).
Don’t be afraid to ask for help.
Find one thing that makes you wiser every day.
What’s bad for the hive is bad for the bee (Marcus Aurelius)
Don’t judge other people.
Study the lives of the greats.
Forgive, forgive, forgive.
Make a little progress each day.
Journal.
Prepare for life’s inevitable setbacks (premeditatio malorum)
Look for the poetry in ordinary things.
To do wrong to one, is to do wrong to yourself. (sympatheia)
Always choose “Alive Time.”
Associate only with people that make you better.
If someone offends you, realize you are complicit in taking offense.
Fate behaves as she pleases…do not forget this.
Possessions are yours only in trust.
Don’t make your problems worse by bemoaning them.
Accept success without arrogance, handle failure with indifference.
Courage. Temperance. Justice. Wisdom. (Always).
The obstacle is the way.
Ego is the enemy.
Stillness is the key.

Found here.

Link Pack


Spaghetti Mayhem. Thanks for the chuckle, Kottke.

– My wonderful friend Maria Popova has entered the poetry stages with her beautiful Spell Against Indifference. There’s nothing I respect more than when I see humans expand, stretch, and break into new territory. Go Maria!

– I am in the Swiss Alps. Just found this Youtube of what a typical Appenzeller Choir sounds like. (Appenzell is the area of Switzerland where I am from.)

The Week is a self-managed group workshop with the goal to overcome climate angst and build momentum. (via)

– This made me laugh: Rotating Sandwiches. (via)

– I love love love this calendar gone emerging tree sculpture.

Everything heals and grows when it’s loved well. People, too.

– Technology is getting really good at removing people from photographs

Promo.chat is a pomodoro timer that turns into a chatroom in the 5- minute breaks. Fun. (Or anxiety inducing for introverts, I assume)

Chippy is a Chrome browser extension that lets you bring ChatGPT wherever you go on the internet. Use AI to summarize, research, translate and answer questions—all without switching tabs. Created by Fictive Kin.

The Big Here Quiz: 30 questions to elevate your awareness (and literacy) of the greater place in which you live.

– Solid advice: Keep a brag sheet of your accomplishments. (via)

These realistic mini animal paintings by Lorraine Loots are beautiful. You can wear them, they are Tattly.

– I love that Threads now has a web interface. You can follow me here if you feel like it. (Threads is Meta’s Twitter competitor)

Waving From Switzerland

Posting has been light as I am currently on my yearly pilgrimage to the Swiss Alps with my kids. The scene above is what I am currently seeing and hearing outside our 200+ old farmhouse Airbnb in the Appenzeller mountains. (Cowbells are real!) You can follow our journey along on my Instagram and especially this story

A ‘Book Doctor’ at Work

I hated it when someone asked me “What do you want to be when you grow up” when I was a kid. I should have just said A Book Doctor

(via the kid should see this)

Courage


Thank you Propheta, what you share is a gift.

Brett Perry

I had a pretty exciting week and met a bunch of super interesting humans this past Monday at an exclusively curated salon in SF. One of the fine humans at this gathering was Brett Perry: Dancer, Farmer, Educator and Producer. During one of his shares he explained how he started getting to know himself better by intentionally living life more with his non-dominant side. (Think doing things with your non-dominant hand first) Love this notion. Thank you you Brett. Also, I decided I want more dancer friends in my life.

Architecture that’s built to heal

Love this notion of looking at spaces we inhabit as having the power to heal. (I had the pleasure to meet Michael Murphy this past week and experience his thoughtful approach to his craft.)

Face Drop

I love when objects put a smile on my face. This one is wish listed. Also these fellas!

Friday Link Pack

Ok Go has a new song out. The video is ‘moving’.

– Excellent read: On Relational Infrastructure

I love him!

– Just recently discovered the Goodness Exchange. Bookmarked! (They also have a podcast)

– Doh! Use shower caps to cover the bottom of your shoes in your luggage. Brilliant.

– Are you a fan of The Moth? Me too! Hear Catherine Burns generously share storytelling tips at last Friday’s CreativeMornings/NYC. (She was the artistic director at The Moth for 20 years!)

A company pitch deck framework.

– Whoa! Scribe is so useful.

– I thoroughly enjoy my daily notes from the universe.

These wire sculptures have me mesmerized.

– Wonderful read: Hanlon’s Razor: Not Everyone is Out to Get You

– This article resonated with me: What to Do About That Thing You’ve Been Putting Off

This butterfly stool by NACO is such a beauty! Check out beautiful-no-tool-assembly.

– Want to be inspired by some trailblazer women? Check out HUR Conversations.

The Uncertainty Pledge. I feel this: “Uncertainty is where possibility lives.”

– This made me smile: Above the bare minimum museum date. (You can also do this with a friend, kid etc)

The World Wide Wander is back on September 29th!

Tattly is 12! (Psst.. the yearly totally bonanza 50% off sale is currently going on until Sunday July 30)

– I just watched the video on how the bookmarking tool My Mind works. Supercol.

My Mind

Wow. My Mind seems impressive. Definitely trying this.

ps: OMG! The onboarding is a piece of art. The entire experience is a dream. YES!

Permission to be Creative

I keep coming back to this gem. This part:

“… It’s so beautiful is the thing that worries me sometimes whenever you talk about creativity, because it can have this kind of feel that it’s just nice, you know, it’s warm or it’s something pleasant.

It’s not it’s vital. It’s the way we heal each other in singing our song and telling our story and inviting you to say, hey, listen to me and I’ll listen to you. We’re starting a dialogue, you know. And when you do that, this healing happens and we come out of our corners and we start to witness each other’s common humanity. We start to assert it. And when we do that, really good things happen. So if you want to help your community, if you want to help your family, if you want to help your friends, you have to express yourself and to express yourself, you have to know yourself.”

Seeing Things

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.”
Henry Miller

Sorting Therapy

@woahtori #colorsorting ♬ Summer – Aesthetic Sounds

My friend Steve pointed me to this incredibly soothing and minimal app called Sorting Therapy. My kids love it too!

My Kinda Traffic Jam

This art piece by Maider Lopez made me giggle. More photos here)

Ólafur Arnalds live from Hafursey

Compression Marble Sofa

I am loving Paul Cocksedge’s play of materials with the Compressed Marble Sofa. Stunning.

The Finest Medicine

“To be silent the whole day long, see no newspaper, hear no radio, listen to no gossip, be thoroughly and completely lazy, thoroughly and completely indifferent to the fate of the world is the finest medicine a man can give himself.”
Henry Miller

Link Pack

I keep coming back to this concert. Wish I could travel back in time and experience it live.

_ Whoa! This nutrient density chart. It’s so impressive.

GiveWell shares the top charities.

7 Questions to ask yourself when you don’t know what you want.

– Need some cool prints for your walls? Check out The Public Domain Review Shop

– “Power is the free flow of love

– I don’t drink but if I did, I’d love to own this Bar Set.

– Ever thought about making your own butter? Here you go.

Meta launched Threads. It ties into your Instagram account which means the setup is seamless and you’re instantly connected to the folks you follow in Instagram. Smart! I am going to give it a go. You can follow me over there.

– Ugmonk sells exceptionally beautiful desk accessories.

Can Everyone Take a Sabbatical?

July 2023 Opportunities: Open Calls, Residencies, and Grants for Artists

– I dig this little, minimal wall cabinet. Floating side table anyone?

– These are some pretty stripe-y towels.

– Interesting thread: 50 Ways To Start A Conversation With Anyone

Lara Maju’s Botanicals are currently decorating my arms and I am getting so many compliments.

– I am thrilled that our CreativeMornings/NYC events are back to how they felt pre-Pandemic. The past two months we were waitlisted again. Have you been to a CreativeMornings recently? If so, where? Don’t know if there is one in your city? You can check here! (Some chapters are looking for a new host to take over. Is that you?)

This Park in Poland is A Dream!

Check out this design-y park in Poland. Thank you Kottke for this find. I am so grateful you’re back at it!

Jelly Wobbler

I applaud Nik Ramage for the invention of the Jelly Wobbler.

Lights as Fungi

Lights as fungi, beautiful series by Norwegian photographer Rune Guneriussen.

Meditation: A Practice of RAIN

I keep coming back to Tara Brach’s Practice of RAIN often. RAIN stands for:

Recognize what is happening;
Allow the experience to be there, just as it is;
Investigate with interest and care;
Nurture with self-compassion.

To put it Simply

“To put it simply –
we are here to become
embodiments of love.”
– Paramatma Siri Sadhana

Worldwide Driving Orientation

Fascinating: Worldwide Driving Orientation by Country in 2020.