Getting rid of stuff before we moved into our present home has given me a new appreciation of uncluttered visual, mental, temporal, and aural space. I’ve gained capacity to think and imagine with fewer distractions; I can prize the space between things rather than the things. The Japanese have a term for this: ma, negative… Continue reading Imagining Art
Category: Japanese Concepts
Impermanent Wind
On my way to pick up meds at Walgreens, dismounted at the Central Library for Taiko drumming. A guy used a calligraphy brush to interpret the piece, “Impermanent Wind.” The drumming and my meds speak to my own impermanence, and that’s OK. Mono no aware.
Living Without Paper Documents
Many of the ideas on Pinterest to organize paperwork would not look terribly out of place 100 years ago. Pinterest often seems dedicated to buying stuff and filling space. This makes me anxious: I’ve come to appreciate the calmness of empty space, absence of stuff, ma, the space between. This is how we organize paper:… Continue reading Living Without Paper Documents
Less is More
“Less is more” is famously the motto of architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886–1969). The idea is to reduce design to its necessary elements. Less famously, Mies picked up the phrase from his teacher, architect Peter Behrens, in Berlin around 1910. Behrens is considered to be the first industrial designer. In the 1930’s Mies… Continue reading Less is More
Ikigai: It Gets You out of Bed Every Morning
Posted Ikigai: It Gets You out of Bed Every Morning.
Ikigai: It Gets You out of Bed Every Morning
The [Japanese] word ‘ikigai’ is usually used to indicate the source of value in one’s life or the things that make one’s life worthwhile … . [It’s] used to refer to mental and spiritual circumstances under which individuals feel that their lives are valuable. There is a difference between ikigai and the sense of well-being.… Continue reading Ikigai: It Gets You out of Bed Every Morning
There is no Road
Posted There is no Road.
An All-Expense-Spared Trip to Chicago
On Sunday I submitted my 2018 tax return. I’m eagerly awaiting a $2 refund from the Feds. The tax refund got me into a parsimonious frame of mind. I decided to assemble an inexpensive trip. Incentives for a cheap trip The stars were in alignment: An email from Hyatt Hotels warned me that a bunch… Continue reading An All-Expense-Spared Trip to Chicago
Travel Gear: Suitcase
This is our only suitcase. My parents bought it in the 1960’s, probably at the John Lewis “Bainbridge’s” department store in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. They understood durable quality, even though money was tight. It took me through my college days in the 1970’s and on to the United States in 1979. In my undergraduate… Continue reading Travel Gear: Suitcase
Empty Spaces
Closed on our apartment, started filling the empty space.