Hello there - hope you had a great week. Here are a few things I thought were cool this week and that caught my eye.
Keep Growing
The image above was sent to me by a reader of “The Eye of the Storm” and I thought it was super cool. I have gotten a few message and images sent to me of readers keeping their eyes open for anything interesting, odd or as Rob Walker encourages us to “spot anything out of place.”
The image of this little branch finding a way through the decking to reach sunlight is pretty powerful. It reminds me to find a way - there is always a way to grow where you are no matter the situation and to keep reaching because you never know when you will break out to new vistas.
I think it is pretty cool to receive these images from others. If you ever see anything you think is cool, feel free to share with me - email John Storm or Insta:@johnstormart.
Slow Down
I recently finished reading “In Praise of Slowness” by Carl Honore. This book had been on my “Books to read list” for a long time and I am glad to have finally knocked it out.
Long story short; most of us are “speedaholics” and live such rushed, frantic and hurried lives that we very easily get stressed and burned out. We live in an “age of rage” and anyone in our way or that slows us down becomes the object of our annoyance at the very least.
The book clearly shows that speed is not always the best approach to life and enjoying all that it has to offer. Looking at many aspects of life like the food we eat, our health, our work, our driving, connection with family, and more - the book offers ways to decelerate and lower the stress and anxiety prevalent in our lives. This seems obvious but is not easy - it’s like swimming against the current of modern life.
“For fast-acting relief from stress, try slowing down” - Lily Tomin
Recently my wife and I were needing some reprieve from the past few weeks and we decided to spend a considerable chunk of our weekend just sitting on the shore of a lake just a few minutes from where we live (image below.)
We deliberately tried to decelerate and just enjoy the view, weather and sound of our boys throwing rocks in the lake. Needless to say, slowing down seemed to work wonders for us.
What are ways you can try slowing down this week? Consider it an experiment.
That’s all for now - thank you for following along. Keep your eye out for anything you find interesting this week. Take care!