The Center Is A State Of Mind

The passage below is from a Seth Godin post. It reminded me of everything I loved about playing with the geometric drawing toy, Spirograph.

Follow Seth, he's awesome. And I don't use that word often. Ever.

The action used to happen at court. In France, if you wanted to get ahead, you put on your outfit, called in favors and hung out near the King, because proximity was all.

If you're in Kibera, are you too far from Silicon Valley to write an app? If you live in New Zealand, are you too far outside the mainstream music world to perform a hit song? What about an author who lives 3,000 miles from New York?

The magic of our new form of communication is that it's no longer one-way. If you consume an app, you can write one. If you can read a blog, you can publish one. If you can grab an ebook, you can produce one.

The center has nothing to do with geography any longer. The center is a state of mind.

Drawing: box64studio

Do Nothing

The true harvest of my daily life is somewhat as intangible and indescribable as the tints of morning and evening. It is a little stardust caught; a segment of a rainbow which I have clutched.” ~ Henry David Thoreau

We are a busy bunch these days. I don't know about you, but I spend a chunk of the day on the computer accessing an unlimited supply of information. Some days I am so overloaded that I think my brain has been rewired.

A while back I stumbled onto a website that challenged me to do nothing for two minutes. Ready for yet another computer diversion, I was game. I began listening to the soothing sounds while gazing at the tranquil image on the computer screen, then something very strange happened. At first, I settled into my chair, my breathing slowed and my gaze softened. After about 40 seconds, I got incredibly antsy and grabbed the computer mouse.

Two minutes - sounds so easy. Right? Check out Do Nothing For 2 Minutes, then please come back and share your thoughts.

Here are 5 Ways to Practice The Art of Doing Nothing.

Credit: Ben Scott

Dreaming: Desire To Inspire

3 things I love about Desire To Inspire (besides the room porn above):

1. Desire to Inspire is run by two women who have never met. Well, they e-met on Flickr and shared bookmarked images. Kim lives in Canada, and Jo hails from Australia. The mission of these two design junkies is to inspire the world one room at a time. I just love the way they share a long-distance relationship and their passion for all things beautiful for the home.

2. Desire to Inspire's "Pets On Furniture" feature each week is hilarious, and so very shameful. If my pooches only knew how the other half lives…Hey, that dog looks like one of mine!

3. Econesting was highlighted in Design To Inspire's latest reading list. Cool…and thanks!

Photo credits: Desire To Inspire

Less is So Much More: Living a Minimalist Life

Not long ago, troche I discovered a blog called “mnmlist.” I’ve been following Lloyd Alter’s Frugal Green Living series and he has added some interesting quotes from mnmlist creator, Leo Babauta, who also founded Zen Habits. What I really like about mnmlist is how refreshingly clean it is — no ads, no pictures, no clutter. What is mnmlist about? CLICK HERE FOR MORE