Mindful Matter
Man’s Search for Meaning.
A few years ago, I read Viktor Frankl’s “Man’s Search For Meaning”. Though it’s a brief read, I learned so much from it. Frankl is a great storyteller. He takes the reader with him as he struggles to adapt to life in a World War II concentration camp. From his training as a neurologist and psychiatrist, he has a unique perspective toward the challenges he faced while surviving the Holocaust. When confronted with the horrors of his experience, Frankl turned to the words of Nietzsche: “He who has a Why to live for can bear almost any How.” Frankl saw three possible sources for meaning (or the “Why” as Nietzsche calls it) — in work (doing something significant), in love (caring for another person), and in courage during difficult times. He famously wrote: “You cannot control what happens to you in life, but you can always control what you will feel and do about what happens to you.” Here are a few of the other lines in the book that resonated with me: “For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side-effect of one’s dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one’s surrender to a person other than oneself.” “..everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” “Life is not primarily a quest for pleasure, as Freud believed, or a quest for power, as Alfred Adler taught, but a quest for meaning.” Dave RadparvarCo-Founder, Holstee P.S. Frankl is an inspiration and an embodiment of the theme of Resilience. Our Curated Resources for Resilience include other good reads from the likes of Epictetus, Brené Brown, Ryan Holiday and Cheryl Strayed. Become a member to get access →
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Being interested is interesting.
“We need to listen consciously in order to live fully.” - Julian Treasure In his TED Talk “Five Ways to Listen Better”, sound expert Julian Treasure makes the case for listening with intention. It’s a skill I’ve only recently begun to value. For the longest time, I thought that to have a meaningful conversation, I needed to
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Our team values.
A few years ago, we started creating a list of Holstee team values. Over the years, we have continued to update, edit, and add to this list as our people and our beliefs have changed. Below is our latest version (still a work in progress!). Feel free to use them, steal them, or share them as you wish.
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I learned this way too late.
I recently learned about a cure-all. Reduces anxiety? Check! Improves confidence? Check! Helps you think clearly and make better decisions? Check! Aides in your daily mindfulness practice? Check! Improves your workout routine? Check! Better sex (for men and women!)? Check check! Oh, and if that list isn’t enough, it’s free and infinitely available. Ready?
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Sandwich of the future.
I love sandwiches — both making and eating them. So when I heard that there was a famous man in Syracuse, Sicily, who makes just a few dozen sandwiches a day and has a constant line out the door, my interest peaked.
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A learning from Sherlock Holmes.
Recently, I made a conscious decision to read a fictional short story to break up the non-fiction I typically lean towards. On Mike’s recommendation, I picked up “A Study in Scarlet,” a Sherlock Holmes classic from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. On the last page, Sherlock summarizes how he
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Learning to walk.
"We have flown the air like birds and swum the sea like fishes, but have yet to learn the simple act of walking the earth like brothers." — Martin Luther King Jr. As a species, we have done so many incredible things — feats that were
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Speaking of great conversations...
A recent Mindfully Mailed message sparked a conversation between one of our readers, Carol, and a friend of hers, Erin. Carol shared the conversation thread with us, and we loved reading their discussion of how hard and fruitless the early days of learning can be. The entire exchange was a joy to read. We specifically wanted to share this quote from Erin:
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A great conversation.
When is the last time that you had a great conversation? I love this excerpt from Irish poet, theologian and philosopher John O’Donohue’s conversation with Krista Tippet of On Being. It comes from one of the last interviews this brilliantly grounded thinker gave before he passed. “When is the last time that you had a great conversation? A conversation which wasn’t just two intersecting monologues, which is what passes for conversation a lot in this culture. But when had you last a great conversation in which you overheard yourself saying things that you never knew you knew
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