Take That Step #21

John Ward studio via JW Anderson

1) I received the sweetest email from Maira Kalman the other — it started with this poem:

oh
aren’t there so many
abysmal things
in the world
that you could
weep forever?

but then
aren’t there so many
good
beautiful
funny
things in the world
that you could
jump for joy?

woe be to us
if we cannot
see the beauty.

the days pass quickly.

when joy comes,
fleeting joy,
take it in
with all your heart.

She was announcing the limited edition booklet on the subject of joy. They are signed and numbered, come in an embroidered pouch. Get yours here:

2) I love the quote by Leo Tolstoy: Paint your village, and you will paint the world. I’ve been taking care of the trees on my block and recently, I planted some ivies. Imagine how cool the world would be if everyone looked after at least one tree?

3) I heard mixed reviews about Sirens (Netflix), but watched it anyways. It wasn’t my favorite, but it was definitely entertaining to watch… After discussing it with friends, it was clear that the TV show deals with how we take care of the people who took care of us — and the ones who didn’t. The cast is great and it was nice to see Kevin Bacon!

4) My obsession with Japan took me to the concept of Ichi-go ichi-e, here via Wikipedia:

Ichi-go ichi-e (Japanese: 一期一会, pronounced [it͡ɕi.ɡo it͡ɕi.e], lit. "one time, one meeting") is a Japanese four-character idiom (yojijukugo) that describes a cultural concept of treasuring the unrepeatable nature of a moment. The term has been roughly translated as "for this time only", and "once in a lifetime". The term reminds people to cherish any gathering that they may take part in, citing the fact that any moment in life cannot be repeated; even when the same group of people get together in the same place again, a particular gathering will never be replicated, and thus each moment is always a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

5) The other day a friend quoted his daughter's therapist:

The subconscious of the parents becomes the conscience of the children.

Which indirectly reminded me of something I heard on Mel Robbins' podcast:

What we resist, persists. — Carl Jung

The Card Players, Paul Cézanne, 1890-92