"don’t pursue your passion directly. at least not yet. instead… pursue the things that will empower you. pursue knowledge. be relentlessly curious. listen, learn. you’re leaving harvard this week, but your learning cannot ever, ever be allowed to stop. pursue discipline. it’s an old-fashioned word, but it’s never been more important. today’s world is full of an impossible number of distractions. the world-changers are those who find a way of ignoring most of them. and above all. pursue generosity. not just because it will add meaning to your life — though it will do that — but because your future is going to be built on great ideas and in the future you are entering, great ideas HAVE to be given away."
TED’s chris anderson addresses harvard’s graduating architects
via erehwyna
(via texturism)
"The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen."
Elizabeth Kubler-Ross
doctor’s note
I spent memorial day weekend up in the mountains of northern California with friends, some older, some newer, in a place where people live simply, connected to the land and off the grid. Solar and grey water catchment are the norm. Chickens have free reign and hot tubs are feeding troughs heated by wood fire. I felt inspired and expansive there. We drove deeper into the magical mountains to the now-defunct Heartwood and I felt a profound calm embrace me like never before. At the time I wasn’t stressed at all. In fact, it felt really good to take my time for three straight days (it felt luxurious, really), but as soon as I laid down on the lawn there I felt a whomp of peace hit me and bring my nervous system down ten notches. I haven’t been that relaxed in, like, ever. That moment right there made the trip. So. F-ing. Good.
On our drive up my friend shared some wisdom from one of her mentors, a now passed leader in naturopathic medicine named Bill Mitchell. I’m sad I didn’t get to know him personally but I’m grateful for the friendship and conversation that brought this about. I don’t want to ever forget his advice to a young doctor who asked him how to be successful in practice so I’m writing it here. His answer was to:
1. Work your shit out.
2. Be in nature regularly.
3. Make pilgrimage.
Duly noted. Thank you, Dr. Bill Mitchell, your teachings live on. And thank you to this beautiful corner of the country that I get to call home.
