Playlist: Ethos
A compilation of thoughts I’ve come across over the last five years, and have found useful. Some were collected without noting down the author. But perhaps it’s best to look at them as they are, and not attached to anyone or anything. No links to click on, and no images. A playlist of thoughts burned onto a CD you found while walking down the street, with no album or artist label.
Track 1
“The ultimate aim of the quest must be neither release nor ecstasy for oneself, but the wisdom and the power to serve others. The hero engages in self-discovery and self-creation so that he can ultimately be more useful to others. The hero’s journey gives him the power to serve, and he returns to use that power.”
…
“I guess a modern version of heroism is regaining control of social impulses, saying no to a thousand shallow contacts for the sake of a few daring plunges”
…
There is a season for wildness and a season for settledness, and this is neither. This season is about becoming. Don’t lose yourself at happy hour, but don’t lose yourself on the corporate ladder, either.
…
Sometimes people say, ‘One thing you have to offer in your work is yourself.’ I disagree. I think it’s the only thing.
Track 2
“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.”
…
The harder, duller work of self-care is about the everyday, impossible effort of getting up and getting through your life in a world that would prefer you cowed and compliant. A world whose abusive logic wants you to see no structural problems, but only problems with yourself, or with those more marginalized and vulnerable than you are. Real love, the kind that soothes and lasts, is not a feeling, but a verb, an action. It’s about what you do for another person over the course of days and weeks and years, the work put in to care and cathexis. That’s the kind of love we’re terribly bad at giving ourselves, especially on the left.
…
As a creative you need to fuck up. You need to to be stupid. You need to be irresponsible and responsible.
Track 3
Doing action sports is the most surefire way to get into a state of mindfulness, flow, happiness and community. It’s something that makes you feel truly alive. […] Your kiteboard, snowboard, skis, skateboard — whatever it is — will become your game controller. As humans we are made to move, we are born to play, live outdoors and experience nature. We play with the elements, challenging ourselves and others. At the end of the day, if we drive more people towards that unique and raw experience, and we can say that we created happier and healthier lives for many of us, then, and only then, will we consider […] a success.
…
An escape into Excitement. Music. Art. Discoveries. Trees. Fresh Air. Green Grass. A mini film fest. Friends (Old / New). Adventure. Overwhelming happiness. Hugging a stranger by accident. Sharing and Generosity. Bonnaroovian Dancing. Hyperbolic verbiage. System overload. The perfect bite of ice cream. Sandals. Fallovers. Chirping Birds. Flashing Lights. Food and Drink. Variety. Singing. Laughing. Short shorts. High-Fives. Rocky IV in the cinema tent at 3am. Spicy Pie. Memories. Someone dressed up like Teen Wolf. Holy Cow(!) Moments. Interesting factoids. Egg sandwiches. More music. Adventure. Deep Breaths. Big smiles. This. That. The Other. Hellos and Goodbyes and reminders of all that we have to celebrate and look forward to next year and in the future.
…
Find your voice. Articulate it well. Make beautiful things. Everything else is a distraction. Our generation is full of ambitious people with creative aspirations. The brands and ventures we support are those with vision. We seek meaningful work that embodies a sense of artistry and authenticity. But the creative path is never clear and the landscape is always changing. Anything worth doing is always disorienting. Those in the pursuit of creative work face constant uncertainty.
Track 4
From data to insights. Distraction to purpose. Procrastination to tranquility. Connectivity to quality. Smarter to better.
…
Let it take you, play with it, search for its own life. Get the measure of a job, get close to it, project its life to absurdity (in all directions: scale, function, material, etc) and then pull back to some sense of boundary in what you propose to do.
…
To begin, we must build momentum and then reintroduce the objectives to steer the motion. I find the best way to gain momentum is to think of the worst possible way to tackle the project. Quality may be elusive, but stupidity is always easily accessible; absurdity is fine, maybe even desired. If the project is a business card for an optician, perhaps you imagine it is illegible. (This is in the spirit, but you can do better.)
…
someday when the road bug has subsided and I find a place to call home, my place of residence will consist of a small loft style studio above a garage of toys. Diesel land cruiser, a 69 camaro, a sports mobile, and then — skis, pacrrafts, drift boat, 18ft raft, fishing gear, sea kayaks, canyoneering gear, alpine gear, basically all the gear, and naturally — a corner with bass, piano, keyboards and recording equipment.
Track 5
Rather than putting on a show for others simply look to keep yourself entertained. Do the shit that makes you laugh and show yourself a good time. Doing so will put you in a better mood so being social will become easy and fun. It all comes down to how you feel in your own skin. Working out regularly, dressing in clothes that make you feel good, and talking about the things you understand well can help you build and maintain confidence.
…
You’re alive to do something. Pick a cause, a goal, a vision and live it. People long to have a cause to rally around — something to believe in. You need to believe in it so strongly that it animates your every gesture.
…
“Be Decisive. Right or wrong, make a decision. The road of life is paved with flat squirrels that couldn’t make a decision.”
..
Act more like the person you want to be, rather than sitting around analyzing yourself. Do a few acts of kindness one day a week. Go out of your way to be kind to others without thinking too much about why you’re doing it. This is the first step.
…
“In the long run, our biggest regrets are not our actions but our inactions. The things we wish we could redo, if you look at the science, are the chances not taken.”
