thinking thursday
mind
Dualities: “In 2013, she decided to begin a series that dealt with the realities of what it means to put on a brave face while simultaneously coping with forms of depression. Starting with herself, Obert took two photos: one that showed the person she chooses to present to the world, and a second portrait that presented an image of how she existed behind closed doors when feeling depressed.” What would your two photos show? Hilarious questions posed to the NY Public Library Pre-Internet. Librarians have all the fun.A quite lovely look at the dot by Mr Brilliant a few years ago on New Year’s Eve: “Like Mr. Eliot’s observations of Baudelaire being a fragmentary Dante, and like the brilliantly arranged frammenti of Piranesi, the great bits of our communication processes owe a breathy thanks to the lowly period. A dot. A point. It separates to provide analysis and coherent recognition of thought.”
body
A new year seems a good time to cull, shed, clear out, make spacious. Closets are no exception. Do you need help in deciding which clothes to keep and which to donate? Here’s an infographic that might help. The last week of December, I started an inventory of everything I own. That was sobering, even after our big purge of 2013 when we moved. More spaciousness is coming my way.
I would like to eat this now. On anything. Or just by the spoonful. I will have to try a vegan version.
I am loving her art. And hers.spirit
The poetry of ordinary time: “The moral life, she says, is lived out in what we say as much as what we do — and so words have a power to save us.” Why Self-Compassion Trumps Self-Esteem: “As I’ve defined it, self-compassion entails three core components. First, it requires self-kindness, that we be gentle and understanding with ourselves rather than harshly critical and judgmental. Second, it requires recognition of our common humanity, feeling connected with others in the experience of life rather than feeling isolated and alienated by our suffering. Third, it requires mindfulness—that we hold our experience in balanced awareness, rather than ignoring our pain or exaggerating it. We must achieve and combine these three essential elements in order to be truly self-compassionate.”word
“Compassion isn’t some kind of self-improvement project or ideal that we’re trying to live up to. Having compassion starts and ends with having compassion for all those unwanted parts of ourselves, all those imperfections that we don’t even want to look at.” -Pema Chödrön
(Art by Angela McEntee)
