From Pucci to Pudding

design principles applied to life

german designer of everyday goods, and the powerhouse creative behind braun designs, dieter rams listed his 10 principles of good design. while these pertain, as he intended, to designing of products, the essence of them apply to life in a much broader sense. as little design as possible, as the book chronicling rams' work is titled, perhaps if we consciously strip away all the layers, all the excess, all the trappings, adornments, accessories, rubbish that complicate and detract from the real purpose of our being, from the primal joys in life, from the profound dreams and work we are called to do, we could all experience lives of abundance in the feelings, health, love and contributions that nourish us and our world best.

dieter rams' 10 principles of good design:

1) good design is innovative.
2) good design makes a product useful.
3) good design is aesthetic.
4) good design makes a product understandable.
5) good design is unobtrusive.
6) good design is honest.
7) good design is long-lasting.
8) good design is thorough, down to the last detail.
9) good design is environmentally friendly.
10) good design is as little design as possible.

daily nurture: inner child and creativity

as important as good nutrition, exercise, love and sleep, nurturing daily our inner child and our creativity is key to keeping us energized, inspired and young. what we give our focus and passion to, we fertilize. sprinkle (or gullywash) daily attention and time and delight to both and enjoy the flourishing.

Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.--Picasso

I’m hungry now for having the most time I can have for my creativity and less time for managing fame and success.--Helmut Lang

whether it may appear to be sensical or nonsensical, trust where the energy is brightest.

fresh at 106

yesterday, my grandmother turned 106. she is a phenomenal example of health and happiness at that age--spunky spirit, twinkling eyes, and quick to laugh with joy. when my brothers and i arrived at her apartment, she was all dressed up in a gorgeous peach suit and was eager to catch up with all of us over our picnic lunch.

to celebrate her birthday properly, as is our family tradition, we wanted to bring her favorite cake--coconut. my grandmother's coconut cakes are legendary--lofty, airy cake layers, moistened by fresh grated coconut and generous amounts of frosting. a week before her birthday, i called the fresh market grocery, which is close to where my grandmother lives, and asked to order a coconut cake. if anyone can come close to my grandmother's cake, they could.

the bakery manager i spoke with said their supplier stopped offering coconut cakes after easter. i shared that we were keen to celebrate mema's 106th birthday with her favorite cake. he was impressed by her achievement in years and promised that if he could scare one up he would call me, but we put a carrot cake on reserve to be safe. friday before mema's birthday, he calls me to tell me this story: he rang corporate to see if there were any coconut cakes in their warehouses. he happened to get the bakery head on the phone. he shared mema's birthday milestone and our bakery friend immediately said they would make a special coconut cake for mema and fedex it to her fresh market, no charge. they wanted it to be a birthday present from the fresh market.

mema's eyes sparkled and her joy was radiating when we shared the story of her coconut birthday cake. and despite being conscious of wanting to fit into her clothes and not eating too much, she reveled in a generous slice of her special cake.

we all are grateful to fresh market for bringing such joy to our family on such a special day. but also for being so incredibly caring and going to such great lengths to create happiness and fond memories for our mema and our family. for those in the family who weren't able to be present and enjoy the cake in person, it tastes sweet just knowing the heart and soul who were behind its creation.

thank you, fresh market. thank you, mema. happy birthday.

choosing our energy

as a sponge for the energy in my environment, when i sense that there is tension or sadness or joy, i absorb that energy and notice that i can start to reflect that same energy back. but what if that energy is not what i want to be embodying and sharing?

what i am coming to understand as i practice it more diligently and observe the shifts i see, is that my energy is my choice. sure, i am often in situations where there is tension around project deadlines, tension around ameliorating challenging personalities and situations, and even angst in my pup ernie when he gets spooked by certain environmental issues on our walks. but i don't have to absorb and take on the energy that doesn't serve me.

none of us wants to live in tension or anxiety. i certainly don't, anyway. what i realize is that i am responsible for the energy i share with the world. i choose the energy i radiate. and how that looks is before a conference call, before a meeting, before a dog walk, i focus on my energy. what do i want it to be? what is it in this moment? how is that different from where i want it to be? if i want it to be relaxed, joyous, optimistic, inspired, can-do, generous--all of which are where i prefer my energy to be--i consciously choose to center on those energies. particularly when i realize there is no reason to take on the ick energies, i can stay grounded in my positive energies. and i see shifts in the dynamics of the relationships and the communications when i stay rooted to the positive energies i choose.

dogs reflect energy back to us immediately. they are such wise intuitive souls fluent in the language of energy. when i am confident and relaxed, ernie is as well. when i anticipate that he might get anxious about a trigger situation, he responds in kind. it's the very same with people. and the dynamic i am noticing recently, is when i realize there is upset energy in my environment, i focus more on what energy i am sharing rather than focusing on the upset energy i feel coming at me. when i stay true to positive energy radiating from my core, by my choosing, that ick energy dissipates.

choosing our energy is a powerful medicine. and not only does it transform the energy we share with others, it transforms our inner energy, literally, regulating the level of stress hormones. when those levels are lowered, we stay healthier.

practice the energy we prefer. energy is a choice.

yay for introverts

as an introvert who has become more comfortable with occasions where i must be an extrovert, i absorbed this ted talk on the power of introverts (in the quiet private embrace of my sofa, shared by my pup) with an inner smile. creatives relish and seek out solitude. even the most lauded leaders have streaks of introversion. one-third to one-half of us are introverts and yet our social spaces real and virtual seem to all be designed with extroverts in mind. having been teased as a child for being quiet, a bookworm, and quite happy to be imagining my own worlds in which i played and was inspired, i revel in this gem of a video that gives voice to us introverts' inner needs and how they feed our gifts.

solitude brings peace, energy, inspiration, renewal... relief. even extroverts can enjoy the merits of our introverts' beloved quietude. it is freedom... freedom to hear our thoughts, awaken to aha moments, reflect on life, and freedom to liberate our creative selves.

 

planting our seeds

with spring in full swing, i am delighted to see my garlic and peppermint plants coming back to life and sprouting happily on the fire escape outside my door. their enthusiasm for sprouting inspires my urge to garden and plant for the summer ahead.

i realize that i am happiest when i am planting--yes i do love to dig into the dirt and plant literal seeds--but i have observed that when we are engaged in living and when our energies are oriented towards living fulfilled lives and lives of our dreams, we daily plant seeds for our future.

there are the seeds we plant for our dreams and goals--thoughtfully chosen to help us grow towards those aspirations.

but each day we plant the seeds for tomorrow's effects. and these are just as important in sprouting us towards our best lives as are our life's dreams seeds. daily seeds are how we choose to react to all challenges, obstacles, inconveniences and celebrations of today. our reaction/action sets in motion a circle of feedback that will revisit us tomorrow. if we say an unkind word to a colleague today, their energy and actions towards us tomorrow will be affected by the seed we planted. if we choose to plant the seed of compassion and patience today when confronted by a particularly trying friend, tomorrow that seed may blossom into gratitude.

the point is, that what we do has an ongoing impact. energy carries forward. the seeds we plant today are directly related to what sprouts for us tomorrow.

be thoughtful when planting our daily seeds.

being great means...

NBA superstar grant hill shared that one of the most valuable lessons he learned on the basketball court and in life is: being great means elevating everyone on your team.

our team, our family, our village create the support necessary to enable members to be their best and to rise higher than they may have been otherwise able. superstars don't exist in a vacuum. they are elevated by their team. and when their focus is on elevating everyone on their team, everyone's performance is elevated.

being great is not solely an inward self-focus. being great involves an outward focus.

whether your team is in a sport, around the kitchen table, around the conference table, if you value greatness, focus on elevating those around you. that energy comes back to you, so what you put out to your team, you will experience as well.

where can you be greater?

choosing our energy environment

when we choose where we live, we take into consideration many factors about the environment that will surround us:

• beauty and green space
• ease of access by car, foot, public transportation
• cleanliness in terms of pollution, litter, whether the neighborhood is in decline or moving in a positive direction
• safety
• accessibility to conveniences like groceries, coffee shops, dry cleaner, drugstores, etc.
• sense of neighborhood and community

our physical environment is key and whether we feel energized or depleted by it. but perhaps even more critical to consider is our energy environment. i am reminded routinely how malleable our energy environment is when i see dogs acting out because their owners' energy is negative or timid; or when interacting with someone who is quite angry or negative and i feel my physical and emotional self clinch and get all contorted in reaction.

our energy environment is critically important because it has as much if not more bearing on our health and happiness as our physical environment does. when we live around people who consistently bring us down to sad, angry, beleagured and badgered places, our health and happiness suffer. when we live around people who consistently challenge us to grow in positive directions, support us as we choose and act to create our best lives, and who value love and laughter, our physical and emotional selves flourish.

do we live among toxic attitudes and energies? we are paying a heavy price for that. when we commit to transition to a nourishing energy environment, we begin to blossom.

we always have the power to choose what kind of energy environment we spend our time in. what is yours? and if you want to make shifts to live among better energy, make a list of small steps to take to move towards a positive energy environment. even if for small chunks of each day--perhaps joining a workout group, or a book club, or taking a class, or volunteering--once you get in to some consistent good energy, new opportunities arise to transition into full-time good energy.

good energy=good living.

personal freedom or slavery

this is the week of passover, the jewish holiday that focuses on the story of historical enslavement and the freedom from bondage. i am quite fortunate to live in circumstances where traditional slavery is not my reality. but for me, passover brings my thinking to the question of where in my life am i living in an enslavement of my own making?

i think slavery comes in a cornucopia of flavors. if any of these taste familiar, perhaps it would be worth asking how are we limiting ourselves in this area of our life and what can we do to liberate ourselves? so what does enslavement in a life of seeming freedom look like?

• a job that we are not happy to do every day
• feeling angry or sad more often than not and typically reacting negatively rather than positively
• feeling tethered to social media
• mindlessly watching hours of tv
• consuming junk food
• not excited to explore, discover, adventure; but rather, content to stay in our comfort zone
• choosing alcohol or medications to get to a happy place

the common ingredient in our personal enslavements is simple: our choice to make no effort to create our own happiness. if we allow ourselves to go numb, go mute, die a little each day instead of embracing whatever comes as an opportunity to live a happier, richer life towards our dreams, then we have chosen to live in a bondage of our own making. even with a mere baby step each day, we can live into a much freer, more joyful and fulfilled life.

personal freedom is first a choice, then an act to create what it is that liberates our mind, our heart, our creativity, our best health and happiness. choose and act again and again. freedom is ours for the making.

 

 

reminder on being

in looking intentionally, consciously at how i focus my attention and energy, in celebrating the abundance in each day of reasons to be grateful and joyous, in optimizing even an iota a day how i impact the world around me, i come to a foundational wisdom: be the way i want to be treated.

if i want to be listened to, listen. instead of competing for air time when others need to speak and share, listen first. then the opening for sharing appears as they tune in to listening. if, however, we both want only to be heard, jockeying for air time leads to neither of us being heard.

if i want someone to be professional with me, up my professionalism with them. that means, respect, integrity, listening to what is said just as keenly as what is not said, delivering on promises, optimizing the process as we move through each step, and adding value and joy and kindness to the experience every step of the way. for people who are not as professional as we would wish they were, upping our game is the best antidote to any undesirable dynamic. otherwise we lower ourselves to a place where we are not proud to be.

if i want support, be equally if not more supportive proactively.

think of it as an equation: if i desire a certain way of being, be that way. one reflects the other. and by elevating our way of being, we can elevate what is reflected back to us.