The Way We Build
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Hello Friends, This week, I'm thinking about building. So many creatures build: Homes. Water systems. Food traps. Food storage. Family. Community. They build on purpose and inadvertently, just by living. Whole forests are seeded this way. We humans are no different. We build houses, machines, symphonies, gardens, networks, stories… a series of interactions with each other and the world. We destroy, too, like other creatures, but at a seemingly exponential rate. Trouble is, we often don’t destroy what needs destroying, but we destroy the very things we love. The things that keep us alive. To counteract wanton destruction, begins by returning to our impulses to build. The trouble is, sometimes those two impulses—creation and destruction—go hand in hand. Well, I say trouble, but that isn’t always true, is it? Sometimes space needs to be cleared for things to grow. But other times, space is cleared when greed is the only seed being sown. So, let me start that part again: To counteract wanton destruction, we must root our impulse to build in a wish to share our wealth, to seed healthy lives for others and ourselves. We must heed the instinct toward a longevity captured inside dailiness. This is how I write books: I capture a set of words in pixels every day. Then I allow that creative field to lay fallow for brief stints while other work gets done. While destruction can be quick or grindingly methodical, building has a cadence, too. Over centuries, the cadence of building has eroded. Humans no longer sing work songs together. We are expected to be in states of constant building, with no relief, until our productive lives wind down. This stifles the creative impulse, turning building itself into a methodical grind. And where’s the fun in that? So today, I’ll ask the question: What are you building that feels satisfying, joyous, or fun? wishing you well — Thorn Here’s a new installment of my podcast, with Anthony Morehouse, aka The Elvish Tailor. You can tune in on YouTube or listen at your favorite podcast outlet: Magic, Creativity, and Life US friends, if you wish to help the Haitian community in Ohio, here’s one way: Haitian Community Help & Support Center Haven’t backed my Kickstarter yet? There’s still time: Pride Street
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T. Thorn Coyle
Hello Friends, If you’ve read my newsletter for any length of time, or follow me on social media, you already know I’m all about going for walks and the small gifts I encounter: A rain drop on a rose petal. A friendly cat. Street art. Crows in flight. A fallen leaf… Well, a couple of weeks ago, the streets gifted me with lamps. One thing you may not know about me is that I love art and color and that is reflected in how I design interior spaces. I’ve collected art since I was a teenager, and...
Hello Friends, September 22nd is the equinox this year. That means it is autumn here in the northern hemisphere, which is my favorite time of year. I love both equinoxes, actually—the solstices, too—but autumn is special. First of all, I was born around this time of year. Second, for a nerdy, bookish, neurostrange child who read their way around the Summer Reading Challenge board at the library multiple times, it meant school supplies! More books! Studying things! As an adult, I love the...
Hello Friends, This morning, I glanced outside before sitting in meditation. After days of brutal heat and smoke haze, in which friends have been desperately trying to help those living on the streets? Clouds were gathering. I stepped outside to commune with the puffy shapes collecting water above me. I watched the crows, and listened to the chickadees, finches, and squirrels. Beneath the pale gray sky, I did some gentle stretching, then went inside to sit quietly and breathe as my tea water...