JULY 2022 – Where did it all begin for you? What’s your earliest memory? When you think of home, what immediately comes to mind? Day in and day out, these aren’t things I spend much time thinking about. But when the world becomes calm, when you are trying to make decisions about the future, maybe there is value in reflecting on your past, to help recognize what you want for the journey ahead. Did the world seem simpler to you five, even ten years ago? I think as we venture out further and further from our roots we awaken to the immense realm of possibility and potential and it can be staggering and vast and full of uncertainty. With that comes excitement and vitality and perhaps it is like they say, that what matters most is what you value the most.
Details will always abound, but if you get the broad strokes right, maybe that limitless potential is easier to tap into? And if you can be true to your values then chances are the outcome of any change, no matter how uncertain the undertaking, will ultimately prove to be good. So let your values be your roots (which will constantly be evolving and strengthening over time if you take care of them) and then open yourself up to possibility, to potential, and trust in that foundation to be able to weather any storm.
Has been a very thought provoking month in my world. Isn’t it funny how one question can lead to another and yet another, and spiral out into infinity? The world remains an uncertain place and as Bruce Lee said, change is the changeless state, so learn to embrace that, to welcome that, and trust in your roots to help keep you afloat through anything.
Keeping at it with my studies and learning new concepts and philosophies of environmental practice as well as building design. Obstacles can lead to innovation and that is often your best friend in the design world, despite it not feeling like it at all at first glance, haha. My green biophilic design project continues on in earnest as I keep fine tuning the layout and plans, really like the direction it is headed. Trying to figure out the exterior ornamentation has been stubbornly difficult, but it is forcing me to dig deep, which as noted, is not a bad thing!
Did manage to read a bit for fun this month as well, finishing ‘iRobot’ by Isaac Asimov. Such a prophetic book I suspect in a lot of ways, published over seventy years ago (1950), it reads remarkably well in the 21st century. And while we haven’t developed robotics anywhere near to the realm of the book (yet), it offers up so many insightful ideas for the challenges entering that universe could broach. And I can’t help but feel that a lot of other science fiction authors have drawn inspiration from this title as it was wild to read some of the chapters and be like, hey that sounds familiar! Asimov’s writing style takes some getting used to (in my view) as it was clearly written as more of an episodic and jumps around a lot, but if you can get into a groove with it, there is a lot to enjoy here.
Back to design work I go, but maybe take some time to ponder what is good in life and the strengths of being you!
Cheers,
~ CS
