"Art is about letting yourself be changed. If you aren’t growing, what’s the point?"
Poet and essayist, Maggie Smith, has distilled two decades of teaching and creative practice into a book of reflections on both the craft and mindset of making art. Last week, writer and educator, Anna Brones, interviewed Smith for her newsletter, Creative Fuel.
How to build a creative business as an artist and a leader
Katerina Popova is a Philadelphia-based painter who helps fellow artists build their businesses and advocate for themselves. Through books, coaching, and self-made platforms, she offers practical resources and inspiration.
A jazz master shows how to contribute when your footing isn't what you thought it was
Chris Corrigan is a facilitator, consultant, and teacher with deep expertise in participatory processes, large-group facilitation, and dialogic approaches to organizational change and complexity.
Learning to cultivate the the hidden strengths of people and societies
Ernst Bloch was a pioneering thinker on utopia, hope, and the role of human aspiration in shaping history and society. Born in 1885, he studied philosophy, German literature, experimental psychology, physics, and music, drawing influence from Jewish mysticism and the Kabbalah.
"I truly think that autodidacts are responsible for all that is good and great about alternative culture."
Celine Nguyen is a designer and writer from California. She publishes a great newsletter that explores "literature, design, fashion, technology, phenomenology, perfume, and Proust"—a list that only skims its depth and breadth.
Apocalypses destroy old worlds, but they also create new ones.
Science journalist Lizzie Wade challenges the idea that apocalypses are solely about destruction. Instead, she argues they can be moments of transformation—times when societies collapse but also rebuild, sometimes in better ways.
“Predicting doom in difficult times may have more to with the sorrow and depression of the moment than with any real insight into future possibilities."
In January 2000, the White House asked Octavia Butler to write a memorandum to President Clinton outlining her vision of the future. She chose to focus on education.
Some nitty-gritty details regarding Joan Didion’s writing process
Jillian Hess describes her newsletter, Noted, like this: “I’ve spent the past two decades studying hundreds of notebooks, and I’m excited to share the most interesting, inspiring, and unique notes with you.” Through Noted, she offers a behind-the-scenes look at the creative processes of some of the world’s most fascinating minds.
Radical acceptance shows us the value in learning how to truly accept life just the way it is.
Pema Chödrön encourages us to meet fear with curiosity.
Curiosity can serve as an antidote to the anxiety that arises in uncertain times.
When we feel anxious or depressed, it’s often because we’ve latched onto a fixed idea about how the future will unfold.
'To understand that the American order is not the only possible system — that, for many countries, it is not even a particularly good or fair one — is to allow oneself to hope that its end could augur a more inclusive world.'
Amitav Acharya is a globally renowned scholar of International Relations.
'The question isn’t whether we can imagine a better future—it’s whether we can afford not to.'
Rob Hopkins, a leader in sustainability and community change, says the future isn’t something that just happens—it’s something we create.
What truly matters in shaping our collective destiny?
The Manual for Civilization is a project by The Long Now Foundation that seeks to answer a profound question: What books would you need to restart civilization from scratch?
How to enhance personal and social and planetary well-being
Astronauts who see Earth from space often experience the "overview effect"—a powerful shift in perspective.
'Embrace your constraints — they’ll spark your creativity.'
In another example of DIY cool, consider this: Pixar’s Inside Out 2 had a staggering $200 million budget, DreamWorks spent $78 million on The Wild Robot, and Aardman made the latest Wallace and Gromit film for about $40 million.
Negative emotions like grief and horror can coexist with positive feelings such as love and beauty.
Sarah Jaquette Ray recalls the day she asked her students to envision a positive future 10–15 years ahead—one in which their hopes for solving global problems had been realized.
In the age of A.I. and machine learning, just being more productive won’t cut it. The future belongs to the creatives.
In the Human Productivity Parabola (see graph above), we have now passed the point — call it the 'Productivity-Creativity Inversion' — where machines (algorithms, robots, etc.) have become a better investment for future productivity gains than humans.
Turning mixed textile waste that was destined for landfill or incineration into something valuable and usable by Earth’s “helpers”.
There are millions of species of bacteria, archaea, and algae, the most ancient and widespread engines of material flows and life support for the planet.
Systems Thinking terminology, vocabulary, definitions, and concepts gathered on one site
Welcome to the Systems Thinking Glossary, your go-to resource for understanding essential terminology, vocabulary, definitions, and concepts in systems thinking.
Thich Nhat Hanh to the U.S. Congress on how to support communities of understanding, peace and happiness.
In 2003 Tim Ryan, then a congressman from Ohio, invited the Buddhist monk and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh to address members of the U.S.
'We have a duty to dwell on the overwhelming beauty of the world, to let its warmth soothe our sore hearts.'
Recently Cameron Bellm has been reading the diaries of journalist, social activist, and co-founder of the Catholic Worker Movement, Dorothy Day.
Just in time? Research shows that AI mediation can help people find common ground on complex social and political issues.
To act collectively, groups must reach agreement; however, this can be challenging when discussants present very different but valid opinions.
What it takes to live with our hearts and integrity intact in this time of global crisis.
We welcome you to the kitchen table of the legendary eco-spiritual teacher Joanna Macy....You’ll be guided into these conversations by Jess Serrante, a longtime activist and student of Joanna’s.
A new survey suggests that young people are shunning AI algorithms and online retailers to experience the joy of visiting bookshops.
Gen Z’s cultural tastes are heralded, maligned and mythologised in almost equal measure.
'In the grand scheme of things, everything is workable. As long as we practice and engage with the world for the benefit of others, humanity will survive the rise and fall of any politician or ideology.'
When the going gets frightening and weird, I turn to Buddhist teachings for guidance.
This summer a new visitor center opened across the street from Louis and Lucille Armstrong’s two-story house in Corona, Queens.
In 1943 the great American jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong and his wife, Lucille, settled into what would be the last residence they shared: a two-story house in the New York neighborhood of Corona, Queens.
Pursuing what’s interesting to you can enrich your life beyond happiness and meaning, benefitting not just you, but society at large.
What makes for a good life? Is it pleasure or enjoying the passage of time, as James Taylor once sang? Or is it more about living life with purpose and contributing to other people’s well-being?
It seems that creative people don’t see unusual information as quite so unusual.
My work explores the ways in which creative individuals prioritise information differently to their less creative counterparts.
'Knowledge must often molder in our mental warehouses for decades until we figure out what to do with it.'
Leslie Valiant...calls our ability to learn over the long term 'educability,' and in his new book, “The Importance of Being Educable,” he argues that it’s key to our success.
Educational institutions could place a higher value on the inner life of young people by supporting a culture of contemplation.
Gaining fluency with the contemplative practices – like becoming an artist or athlete – requires not only time and attention, but social and institutional support.
An antidote to anger
We are living through a time of uncommon helplessness and uncertainty, touching every aspect of our lives, and in such times another reflex is the longing for an authority figure selling certainty, claiming the fist to be a helping hand.
A vast majority of people worldwide are personally willing to sacrifice part of their income for the common good. Yet those same people also assume that others would not.
I was first introduced to Otto Scharmer's Theory U by my friends, colleagues and clients at Reos Partners.
Social scientists have proven that religious or spiritual beliefs and practices improve people’s health and well-being; increase social cohesion, empathy and altruistic behavior. It's time for neuroscientists to look, too.
Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, known as Amma, has dedicated her life to spreading a message of peace, tolerance and compassion.
How to make rational, fact-based decisions like a scientist, and how to work with other people to come to a consensus when not everyone shares the same values.
In 2013, the University of California, Berkeley, debuted a course to teach undergraduates the tricks used by scientists to make sense of the world, in the hope that these tricks would prove useful in assessing the claims and counterclaims that bombard us every day.
Margaret Mead thought we needed a deliberate process of cultural evolution. She thought psychedelics might help.
In the summer of 1930, the anthropologist Margaret Mead and her second husband and fellow anthropologist, Reo Fortune, made their way to the Omaha Reservation in northeastern Nebraska.
Breaking is a dance that celebrates athleticism, creativity, and a variety of scientific principles.
Breaking, also known as breakdancing, originated in the late 1970s in the New York City borough of the Bronx.
A handbook of useful exercises for unblocking creative drives and stretching creative muscles
In recent years, (cartoonist, author and teacher Lynda) Barry has taken a deep dive into research into images and human cognition, designing and teaching a multi-disciplinary course at UW-Madison called “Writing the Unthinkable.” What It Is came from these deep explorations into images, writing and memory.
"The good thing about everything being so messed up is that no matter where you look there’s good work to be done.”
- Derek Jensen
