February 3rd, 2011 § 1 Comment
Via James Pearson, and from http://caavadesign.com/_blog/Caava_Design/post/Life_Experiment/
I Will Not Talk About the Weather
February 2nd, 2011 § 2 Comments
They say that people in New York don’t talk to strangers. But I disagree. The one conversation we will have with someone we don’t know is surrounding the weather, particularly in the winter. You’ll see someone on the subway shake off an inch of snow from his jacket and know that you can smile and say, “how bout this snow?” without being categorized as crazy.
I actually think it’s a beautiful thing that the weather can encourage conversation between strangers. (One thing I noticed while living in LA is that people rarely talk about the weather. This is undoubtedly because it is 70 and sunny three hundred days out of the year)
Despite my fondness for the role that the weather plays in connecting strangers, I’m pretty sick of weather talk, partly because the topic has started to bore me, particularly because this whole “wintry mix” routine has persisted for far too long, and partly because weather is not a creative conversation topic to choose. It’s kind of my “default” for striking up a conversation with a stranger.
So, today, I will not talk about the weather. As I stand in the elevator this morning, I will be forced to entertain a different topic of conversation. Perhaps, an authentic, “how you are doing this morning” to someone I don’t know will just have to suffice.
Daydreaming
January 28th, 2011 § 7 Comments
Our first experiment will be a fairly easy one.
Today at 3pm, I’m going to let myself day-dream for an entire 20 minutes.
Jared has a friend who has started at least 5 successful business that he thought of…in the shower. Yep. In the shower. That’s where this business-genius does his brainstorming. Perhaps this works because in the shower he lets himself dream. He’s not terribly busy in there. Just going through the motions of lather and rinse. Perfect time to let his mind wander and ponder new ideas.
I don’t know that daydreaming all the time is the best practice. But it’s certainly not the carnal sin it’s made to be in elementary school.
It is with our daydreams that we build the foundations for our lives. Letting our minds wander and ponder random things for a few minutes a day could energize and motivate us to try new things. So, I believe daydreaming should have at least a small space in our busy lives.
Perhaps this is something you already practice, if so, tell us why you do it and what you learn about yourself through it. And if you’re more like me, someone who is a little bit scared of letting go to dream about what I actually do want in life, then try it with me today.
What’s this all about?
January 26th, 2011 Comments Off
I’m Ilea. I am simply ready to change some of the habits I’ve accrued in the last decade or so. I’d not only like to change from somewhere deep within, but I’d also like to discover. That is what this blog is about for me. Discovery. Discovery of oneself. Discovery of potential. Discovery of opportunity. Discovery of community. Discovery of my purpose.
Our dear friend James Pearson has described this need to discover so eloquently.
He said: “First, there is no such thing as ‘supposed to.’ There is no predetermined path through life that we must divine; no secret map to fulfillment that, if missed, will leave us floundering. We have a profound freedom as human beings to assess the options presented to us, and to choose those we believe are best. Are we going to make mistakes and have false starts and change our minds? Of course! But what greater joy than to chart one’s own course, and what better map than our own constantly developing sense of purpose?”
Ker and I know this expedition will be full of ups and downs. Good experiments. Weird experiments. Uncomfortable experiments. Difficult experiments. And sometimes just downright bad experiments. But we’re willing to take the risk if it means we’ll discover more of who we were created to be, and perhaps even more of who we already are. We hope you’ll join us on this journey – try some experiments – and share what you discover about yourself.
Love,
Ilea
It’s Me, Kerry.
January 26th, 2011 Comments Off
I’m Kerry. I’d like to tell you about who I am, but I’m still trying to find that out. I will say, however, that I want to continue to expand myself, so that I don’t become confined by my normal and predictable patterns of behavior. Instead of just thinking outside the box, I want to live outside the box.
I’m trying to take life less personally. If life is made up of series of experiments, then each moment provides an opportunity to take a risk and see what happens. Though I may not like some the experiments or decide not to
partake in one, perhaps that decision too will shed light on something deeper within. But hopefully, these daily challenges, whatever they may be, will result in a small shift in every-day perceptions and slowly expand who
we are. And with this expansion, we can become more vast, flexible creatures.
Ilea and I will be talking through these experiments as they unfold and I hope you join the conversation!
Kerry
Ilea
