Violet Psychofluid

“The most important thing a human being can learn is how to be a human being, is how to be. How to be with what there is. How to be when emotions arise, how to be with those emotions. When thoughts arise, how to be with those thoughts and recognise that you’re not your thoughts and you’re not your emotions.

“God breaks the heart again and again and again until it stays open.”

Art matters. It is not simply a leisure activity for the privileged or a hobby for the eccentric. It is a practical good for the world. The work of the artist is an expression of hope - it is homage to the value of human life, and it is vital to society. Art is a sacred expression of human creativity that shares the same ontological ground as all human work. Art, along with all work is the ordering of creation toward the intention of the creator.

Vāstu śāstra

“Creating a life that reflects your values and satisfies your soul is a rare achievement. In a culture that relentlessly promotes avarice and excess as the good life, a person happy doing his own work is usually considered an eccentric, if not a subversive. Ambition is only understood if it’s to rise to the top of some imaginary ladder of success. Someone who takes an undemanding job because it affords him the time to pursue other interests and activities is considered a flake. A person who abandons a career in order to stay home and raise children is considered not to be living up to his potential — as if a job title and salary are the sole measure of human worth. You’ll be told in a hundred ways, some subtle and some not, to keep climbing, and never be satisfied with where you are, who you are, and what you’re doing. There are a million ways to sell yourself out, and I guarantee you’ll hear about them. To invent your own life’s meaning is not easy, but it’s still allowed, and I think you’ll be happier for the trouble.”

I have heard that on the day the world was born, the bird of love was released to fly. It searched all the three worlds but could not find a fit resting place. So it turned and entered the inmost heart, favoured it and never flew elsewhere. The three worlds asked it then, ‘Why are you attached to the human heart?’ 'Suffering,“ it replied, "is the only hope for humans. Where there is sorrow, there I dwell.’ Where there is grief in the world, love has its dwelling.

A combination of fine tea, enchanting objects and soothing surroundings exerts a therapeutic effect by washing away the corrosive strains and stress of modern life. [… It] induces a mood that is spiritually refreshing [and produces] a genial state of mind.