Simplify Until It’s Obvious

One of the most intelligent case studies in design is the Japanese tea cup. They're made without handles, simply, because if it's too hot to touch then it's too hot to drink. 

Humans naturally want to add more. Add a cardboard sleeve, add a warning to the label, add a handle. The result of all of these things never cools down the tea faster. And in the end, you'll still burn your mouth from drinking too early. It's not that people don't see the signals, we're just adding more layers of separation between us and the answer.

We tend to do this with our lives as well. We create new distractions disguised as hobbies, activities, or "pastimes" that are inadvertently pulling us further away from the solution to all of the noise we're so desperately trying to escape.

If we take a step back, get back to the basics, and recharge without the distractions – we slowly begin to feel human again. The answer to reclaiming our lives isn't the addition of layers, it's subtraction.

Simplify until it's obvious.

Food For Thought

To live a fruitful life we must always strive to give and not take.

To give and not expect to receive.

To be a servant – to others and our ideas.

A life of servanthood is a life of obscurity, and being unseen.

There, joy is found.

In light of this, we must ask ourselves – are we in search of joy? Or comfort?

You do not need a digital detox.

You just need a day (a week).

Get a life,

Analog Sunday

The Rhythm

Every Analog Sunday is built around five simple practices:

Eat something made with care.
Play without keeping score.
Make something with your hands.
Read something that expands your mind.
Rest without feeling guilty.