Practice Makes Purpose

Getting the work out of your head and into the world

Analog Time

By

The calligraphers’ tales point to reasons for this lettering renaissance, beyond its suitability for Instagram’s square, aesthetically pleasing frame. The first is flexibility. Designers want to keep their hand in the game physically, learning from the old letterforms that remain the base for new fonts, logos, and applications that take the scrolls off the page and into the environment. “It’s nice to slow down, take a deep breath, and go back to doing things in analog mode, be it drawing, knitting, sewing, or calligraphy—something that has been done by our parents, our grandparents, and many generations before that,” Yoshida said. “And we know that it won’t be outdated or expire in a year because our gadget du jour couldn’t keep up.”

Via The New Yorker

Being Still

By

Matthieu Ricard on taking time for stillness:

I hear that all the time too, people saying they’re so busy, how can they possibly take another 20 minutes? It’s just as Pico said about physical fitness before. If people from Nepal come to Paris and they see people jogging early in the morning or going on a bicycle that goes nowhere, they think they are mad. Because they are running in the mountains all day, so they don’t need that. If 15 minutes of stillness change the 23 hours and 45 minutes left in your day, including your sleep and your human relations, it seems to be worthwhile. So to say “I don’t have time” is like going to see a doctor for treatment and then when you hear it saying, “Oh Doctor, it’s impossible!”

Though Ricard is speaking of stillness and meditation the concept is relevant to any habit or practice we seek to introduce in our lives. These little moments in our lives can have powerful effects regardless if the physical time involved. Attention combined with action creates experiences that add to our well being and create momentum that carries us toward happiness and fulfillment.

Via Ideas.Ted.Com

Kindness and success

By

Via University of Wisconsin-Madison News

I think there’s increasing recognition of how social, emotional and cognitive functioning are intermingled; that kids may have difficulty in school when emotional challenges arise and that impacts learning,” she adds. “Can you imagine how this could shift the climate of our schools, our community, our world, if cultivating these qualities was at the forefront of education?

Even though this particular article is about kindergarten children the recognition of the potential connection between social, emotion, and cognitive functioning is fascinating and I think particularly important for the creative individual no matter what age.

Follow Me