I had the pleasure of meeting Kyle Studstill last month at a neighborhood AirBnB event. In addition to admiring the gorgeous scarf he was wearing, I was quickly inspired by the way in which Kyle blends a practice of mindfulness, reflection and ritual into his work at Composure. I’ve become a devoted reader of Composure’s weekly Reflection and was thrilled when Kyle agreed to share some thoughts with us here today. Thank you, Kyle!
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Hello Discoees,
I do a lot of thinking about meaningful work, and how more of us might spend more time in creative, fulfilling pursuits. As part of this I craft short notes that reflect on various themes, because uncertainty plagues all worthwhile pursuits—if we are to do our best work in the face of uncertainty, perhaps we must first hone virtues and perspectives that allow us to stay the creative path. This week, humility.
Perhaps it’s true that some ideas can be expressed only in the post-modern abstract, but monuments are much more direct. Monuments endure—yes in form, but more importantly as a concrete image in our minds. This one above a gentle reminder, now sitting peacefully in a corner of your own mental stage, there for you when some unexpected curtain rises or falls, a distant million twitteryears from now.
“Never presume that just because you disagree with an idea that you must be correct.” Neil deGrasse Tyson on the kind of humility that comes only with understanding a truly astronomical universe of possibilities.
(And Dangerdust’s ongoing series of chalk paintings are humbling in themselves, beautiful. Take a look.)
And this image complimenting a favorite note from writer Tag Savage:
“Right there is where I got my first parking ticket. Was sitting outside of my car, my hand in a girl’s hair. Wanted badly for her to be my girlfriend and was readying some kind of move. Barely started kissing and bloop bloop, Officer Edmonton of the county parks department pulled up, accused us of being on drugs, cited me for blocking…something. Was unclear. She took this as a sign that our love was not meant to be. But soon enough we did properly date and we lasted a couple of years. Then we hurt each other as restless people do, and we didn’t speak for lots of years.
Last year, her husband painted a portrait of the dog my wife and I own. I really like this painting. It hangs prominently in our living room. There are very nice things about growing up, and hushed forgivenesses are one of them.”
Consider all the above simply fodder for reflection on how to make humility part of your life too. As part of my own work to hone these virtues, I design and produce a line of scarves made and worn with individuals in my life in mind, those who embody the virtues I value. For now I simply tell their stories alongside each scarf; find scarves, virtues, and more reflections over at www.alwayscomposure.com. My enduring thanks for taking a moment to do so. Hushed forgiveness otherwise.
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