BITES // 02.06.20 // WEALTH OF WELLNESS
Every month we collect six of the best pieces of content published on the web and share them with you, because we believe that the most extraordinary thinking is inspired by looking to unexpected places. BITES is a reading list for those who want to bring a little of the outside, in.
1. A PRESCRIPTION FROM PANTONE
For the past two decades, Pantone’s Color of the Year has influenced and inspired product development across multiple industries, from fashion and consumer packaging to graphic and interior design. For 2020, Pantone has chosen Pantone 19–4052 “Classic Blue” for its emotional and psychological qualities: calm, restfulness, and stability. It serves as an antidote to the uncertainty and unrest in the world around us, bringing a sense of tranquility to the human spirit. While the color choice has been criticized for being too plain compared to Pantone’s vibrant colors of the past (looking at you, Ultra Violet and Living Coral), perhaps Pantone is intentionally prescribing us some medicine we may not all like the taste of, but that will benefit our well-being in the long run. By using color as a way to set the tone for our mental health for this year and beyond, Pantone is redefining what it means to be a “wellness provider” for culture at large.
2. LA-Z IS THE NEW LUXURY
The LA-Z Boy is as synonymous with recliner chairs as Kleenex is to tissues. Yet its place in culture has typically been mocked, even disapproved, given it often signifies a lifestyle of laziness and hypermasculine leisure. It calls into question the uncomfortable relationship we have with the act of “taking it easy,” where we feel this need to always be busy and productive. But given heightened workplace stress, poor mental health, and the burnout that comes with hustle culture, the LA-Z Boy is becoming a symbol of the “new” American dream, especially for millennials. The fact that rest is perceived as a luxury is a telling sign that it’s time we start to reprioritize and accept that it’s okay to sit back, recline, and just do nothing sometimes.
3. REINVENTING THE MIDLIFE REBELLION
A tricked-out sports car. A flashy home. A wardrobe of clothes that may not be “age appropriate.” These are often the behavioral signs of a midlife crisis. However, more and more Gen Xers are opting for yoga, meditation retreats, trendy diets, and bucket-list travel experiences over possessions and material things. Typically conveyed by abnormal and slightly rebellious behavior, the midlife crisis (if you can still call it a “crisis”) is now about virtuosity and being your best self. Perhaps there’s some merit to the experiences millennials crave (and are constantly parodied for), with older generations now seeing the spiritual and physical benefits of experiences that material things can’t provide.
4. FACELIFT FOR FUNERALS
The “death care” industry has been slow to evolve and change with the times; oftentimes the funeral experience feels a bit dreary, outdated, and uninspired. Well, again, thanks to the desires of the millennial generation, funeral services are undergoing a radical transformation, with companies like “Exit Here” breathing new life into the end-of-life experience through a more personalized, bespoke approach. Whether it’s more stylized caskets, urns, and floral arrangements, to more sustainable burial methods that are good for the planet, it goes to show that wellness is valued even at the very last stage of life. Because to “die well,” in the exact way you want to, is the final act in living a life well-lived.
5. EXTREME SELF-LOVE
“Make yourself a gift to the world” is the latest call to action from Equinox’s recent brand campaign, challenging their audience to commit to becoming the best version (i.e. the fittest version) of themselves through self-devotion. Leveraging the Greek myth of Narcissus, Equinox attempts to make us look at self-love a bit differently. By loving yourself to an extreme, it motivates you to become the best version of you, which in turn benefits everyone around you. It’s a provocative value proposition for why you should join an expensive gym that often caters to wealthy clientele. But at what point does this narcissistic lens on health and fitness, disguised as an act of altruism, go too far?
6. BE MINDFUL OF MINIMALISM
“Discard everything that does not spark joy.” This notion of minimalism, spawned by Marie Kondo, has become synonymous with wellness culture. But last November, Kondo unveiled her own online store of products, which sells premium items such as this $75 quartz crystal and tuning fork. It made many scratch their heads and wonder “why get rid of stuff only to accumulate more stuff?” Which begs the question- who is minimalism really speaking to, and how do we reel it back in a way where it’s more attainable by all and not just those who can afford it? In his new book, journalist Kyle Chayka seeks to correct this deluxe version of minimalism and bring it back to its original roots, finding something deeper than just an Instagram-friendly, celebrity-endorsed aesthetic. To Chayka, it’s not about minimalism of things, but rather a minimalism of ideas and engaging with things as they are.
TAKEAWAY:
As the world becomes more overwhelming and full of increasing stressors, we see wellness culture growing and taking many shapes and forms; whether that be finding wellness in the end-of-life experience or the mid-life reinvention. We see people checking out of overachievement, obligation, and expectation, and instead prioritizing rest and relaxation through their furniture or color choice. But as we consider wellness in all of its quirky and unconventional forms, it’s important that wellness remains accessible to all, not just those who have the luxury to afford it.
