Feb11
Monthly Archives: February 2024
Feb9
Romcom happens here…
Can biophilic design also be dopamine design? Whatever you want to call it, it makes me happy. Many of the fundamentals here come from William Morris. You don’t get any more nature inspired than the father of the arts and crafts movement. This is a different example than we’ve seen previously. For one thing we don’t see the plants everywhere commonly associated with biophilic design, but we do see the color saturation of dopamine design. Throw in a little Wes Anderson meets Grandma Jean and we are talkin.’
Feb7
the right thing for you to do:
What if biophilic design is a mirror of our interior reality? What if all design, all art, all expression, is a mirror of our interior reality? Could it be anything else? I don’t think so.
I’ve said here that I do not know how to separate my inner life from the way I live. All interior design is an expression of as within, so without. All art is a natural process. It requires we live in a state of curiosity, of inner exploration. It’s a constant challenge; there are far more questions than answers. If you aren’t living with the questions, how do you know faith?
Faith is not an intellectual commodity. It’s an innate trust in the process of life. What if we give the heart a chance?
“I’m good at being uncomfortable, so I can’t stop changing all the time…” – Fiona Apple
Feb5
moody, romantic, unusual, Little Inka
Little Inka is yet another wonderful example of the very approachable bioliphic design. Talk about blending the outdoors and indoors! This would be so easy to live in. And hhh-hhhhmmm…I told you black walls could be cozy.
This couple has found a creative way to live off the land, complete with alpacas. I’m in love with them all. Let’s go; I need 17 minutes to pack.
Feb4
A Limited Gig
Are you okay with dying? Artist Peter van Straten says no. He’s completely fallen in love with reality. “If you don’t take reality for granted, then whatever is in front of you is miraculous.”
How insightful he is, to realize that when you are not friends with yourself you are in solitary confinement. That’s very different than choosing solitude. Only recently have I come to understand that I have been a solitary person my entire life. I craved it as a child and still do, probably more solitude than most people could handle. I am my own best friend. If you have learned how to be your own worst enemy, you can learn how to be your own best friend.
Solitude restores me. I’m just beginning to realize what a gift that is. But I have had to fight for solitude my entire life. I have never taken it for granted, nor the company of my imagination. I’m not saying I’m always happy; I’ve just never held happiness as the measure of a meaningful life. My emotional state is and always has been like the weather – wait a bit and it will change. Deep at the core of my being there is a peace that has never faltered. I believe it was hard-wired in at birth. I think that’s why I fell in love with Lady Gaga the first time I heard Born This Way. We are born this way; we are born whole. That attitude has allowed me to fall in love with reality in all it’s resplendency.
This chaotic, insane, completely buggered world is fascinating to me. If offered a subscription renewal, I’d sign up again. Like anyone, I fear suffering or being a burden to my child. But I don’t fear death. I’ve had far too many spiritual experiences to ever think that this world is all there is, and so I’m infinitely curious. I’ve never doubted an afterlife. That’s the long game. It is this limited reality that is surreal, and therein lies the miracle.
How do YOU remind yourself to BE? Because there ain’t no other way – you’re on the right track, baby…
“My Mama told me when I was young – we are all born superstars…” – Lady Gaga
Feb2
Start here you.
“Start with the art,” Sophie Ashby tells us. Here is yet another example of the biophilic design elements we saw in the last post, but arranged in a different way. You can almost imagine these two London townhouses next door to each other. Here we see the impact color can make. Notice how this makes you feel. Both homes are owned by artists and used as their personal laboratories. Your home is your creative laboratory.
Nothing is more personal than art. If you choose art that truly evokes emotion, that you are strangely and inexplicably drawn to, you have made a great start. Never mind whether or not it matches anything else. It doesn’t matter if you invested last months salary or spray painted cardboard in the garage. If it’s huge or small. What does matter is that you love it. Not anyone else – YOU.
A Painterly Home 