“The experience of the world as one individual is so fleeting it is barely even measurable; especially when held up against the great passage of time felt since Earth’s conception. As humans, we arrive and pass like a mayfly spiraling on a breath of wind for its single day of life in the sun. Our lives are so short when measured against something like the formation of a granite slab, lying out on my garden path; so short, in fact, that the revelation of this brevity can make you feel like your life is even a little pointless—but the other side of this, quite extraordinary, humbling, is to see your time as the most wonderful gift of all. And if it is so (which it really is) then, like the mayfly with only twenty-four hours to live, I am going to open my senses to everything that this day has to offer.”
Comforting Thought: Wild Geese by Mary OliverComforting Thought: Wild Geese by Mary OliverComforting Thought: The people we know by smell aloneComforting Thought: Life On a Low FlameComforting thought: A 10th century Japanese poem about courage
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“Brutality is never temporary. It does not respect the boundaries set for it, and so it is natural that brutality will spread, first corrupting art, then life. Then, out of the misfortunes and bloodshed of humankind, we see born insignificant literature, frivolous newspapers, photographed portraits, and youth-club plays in which hatred replaces religion. Art then ends up in forced optimism, which is precisely the worst of indulgences, and the most pathetic of lies.”
An electrifying and timeless book of ideas about how artists can resist and overcome the forces of fascism written by one of the greats of the 20th Century, Albert Camus who created a massive body of work while actively resisting Nazism during WWII.
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Genre: Essays, Non-Fiction, Politics, Art
Publisher: Vintage
Review in one word: Electrifying
“Create Dangerously” is a short book of essays written in the 1950s by Albert Camus. Despite its age, its snappy insights feel immediately applicable to the current state of our world in 2025 and beyond. Camus touches on weighty topics like the role and responsibility of the artist, resisting fascism through artistic expression and rebellion, human freedom, love, beauty and despair and much more.
highly values your trust appreciates your honesty naturally feels like family still loves you as you change finds it easy to laugh with you holds space for you in tough times supports your happiness and safety helps you to believe in your self-worth inspires you to love and know yourself”
AI-produced slop: as a stand-in for real and soulful human creativity. People can recognise the beauty of other people’s work and long may it remain.
The comfort of apathy: people being too lazy or willfully naive to actually face the genocide that is going on in Gaza. History will not be kind to those who turned away from it, covered it up, silenced the growing global dissent or attempted to make the Palestinian people dissappear. They will NOT disappear and in the age of the internet and everyone having a mobile phone, it’s a fucking joke that anybody would even try and control and manipulate that narrative.
People who think the world owes them something: The world doesn’t give a shit about you, or me, or anyone else. The only way for anyone to start giving a shit about you is if you work hard and produce something of value and quality and then put this out into the world, whether it be a skill, knowledge, some kind of gift or ability. Otherwise why should anybody give a shit about you or what you have to say?
Possibly that last one sounds a bit harsh but I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve heard people moan about this online. Just find the thing that you’re good at and that you enjoy and keep getting better and better at it over many years…there are no shortcuts (unless you have wealthy parents). I think being born into privilege and with expectations of the world giving something to you actually makes you weaker in the mind.
People who “trump”-et about how great they are: A woman my own age who wasn’t on drugs and wasn’t mentally ill asked me to look through my garbage today to find cans and bottles she could sell. It seems hugely unfair that I have a heated home and food and a job when she doesn’t. It seems hugely unfair on the grander scale that gigantic pieces of shit are running the world’s biggest companies like Amazon and Tesla and the world’s largest (former) democracy. It’s always good to be humble about your own position. It could just as easily have been me digging in other people’s trash, it could just as easily be you. There’s very little that actually separates any of us living in houses from those without shelter. Whereas there’s a whole universe of wealth and unimaginable ego that separates all of us from oligarchs and tyrants. When people are busy tearing each other to pieces, they are more susceptible to control.
That’s about it for now.
Reading back on this I didn’t realise how angry I felt but I guess I am angry about all of these things.
Coldness as a melody, gliding through a river with a magnificent #cat and #fox, why people give up and how to overcome it, #Japanese ambient #music, #vegan shepherd’s pie #recipe, building a pond for local #wildlife and loads more. #InterestingThings #ContentCatnip
This one is particularly powerful. Don’t let yourself give in to self-doubt and to give up on things, here are some common mental traps people fall into. Just. Keep. Going!
Infographic: Why People Give Up
Here is a very determined fisherman to cheer you on…
This channel called LouisWildlife is incredibly serene with this lucky guy and his Main Coon cat Louis gently glide through canals watching the world go by. Apparently Louis has known this fox since he was five years old. I would love this gentle life with rivers, kayaks and friends (animal and human) in this place!
Featuring protein rich cauliflower, potatoes, lentils and much more to help warm your heart and tummy. Via Rainbow Plant Life.
Hearty Vegan Shepherd’s Pie
I Built a Wildlife Pond… and so Many Animals Came | Wildlife Habitats | Robert E Fuller
Robert E Fuller is a really talented wildlife photographer and artist from Yorkshire who has created a wonderful natural pond on his property and filmed the animals who visited over the course of a year. It’s a symphony of life and extremely uplifting. He has inspired me to do the same when I eventually get my own place. I love his art and hope to one day own a painting of one of my fav British animals, and one very unfairly maligned and persecuted – the ever tenacious and resilient Badger.
Elizabeth Keith (1887–1956) was a Scottish artist known for her evocative prints depicting East Asian landscapes and cultures. “Hong Kong” (1924) captures the vibrant harbour life and bustling cityscape of early 20th-century Hong Kong as the sun sets and the constellation of yellow lanterns flicker on over the looming Chinese sailing boats. Via Francisco Ribiero.
This Youtube channel is a treasure trove of little-heard cassette tapes of ambient, drone and new age music from the vaults. There is an emerging trend (especially in Japan) of a return to analogue and cassette based music. Personally I love this, it reminds me of my childhood and the wonder elicited from listening patiently to a whole album.
This Nokia happens to be the first mobile phone I ever owned, it came out about the year 2000. I have a lot of nostalgic memories attached to this phone! Do you recognise it? The music as well is really peaceful and beautiful…enjoy!
American artist Natalie Featherston crafts stunning, illusionary artworks within the trompe l’oeil genre, a French term meaning “deceive the eye.” This technique creates the illusion of three-dimensionality on a flat surface. Since 1995, Featherston has perfected her craft, blending the meticulous skill of Dutch masters with contemporary humour. Her oil paintings, drawn directly from life, achieve a lifelike realism that can fool even the sharpest viewers. To explore more of Natalie’s art, visit her website. Via Inspiration Grid.
Did you enjoy this collection? let me know what you think of it below. Thank you for reading my dear friends!
“One particularly magical finding is that phytoncides, the aromatic organic compounds that trees emit—a.k.a. the stuff that makes a forest smell so very good—boost our immune system. Phytoncides help protect trees from pests and pathogens, and, it so happens, protect us, too: When we breathe them in through the forest air, they increase the number of natural killer (NK) cells in our body.”
Third Ear: Reflections on the Art and Science of Listening by Elizabeth Rosner
Extracted from: Third Ear: Reflections on the Art and Science of Listening by Elizabeth Rosner
A world of exquisite beauty and expansive awareness awaits if only we open up our ears and listen with our ‘Third Ear’ for greater connection, understanding and love of all beings. Elizabeth Rosner is a wonderfully vivid and artful weaver of liminal worlds of quietude and sound.
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Genre: Spirituality, self-love, self-awareness, psychology, history
I don’t know how it works for you but there’s a deluge of new music that comes out all of the time on streaming platforms like TIDAL. Which is a far superior platform in terms of music quality compared to Spotify and gives more money to artists.
The amount of music can be overwhelming, but I tend to look at the album covers that resonate with me on an aesthetic level. That look interesting. Then I have a listen and find out if they “sound” like they appear. Does that even make sense what I’m saying? I’m not sure if anyone else does this.
Some of these albums are new and some are old. From these visually aided discoveries, I have come to adore the music on these albums in addition to the interesting cover art. I find that most of the time (but not always) great album art is accompanied by great music. Here are some stand-outs for me along with their genres.
We must know that we cannot hide away from communal misery, and that our sole justification, if one exists, is to speak out, as best we can, for those who cannot. And we must do this for everyone who is suffering at this very moment, despite the past or future greatness of the states or political parties that are oppressing them: to artists, there are no privileged torturers. That is why beauty, even today, especially today, can serve no political party; it only serves, in the long or short term, the pain or freedom of humankind.
An electrifying and timeless book of ideas about how artists can resist and overcome the forces of fascism written by one of the greats of the 20th Century, Albert Camus who created a massive body of work while actively resisting Nazism during WWII.
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Genre: Essays, Non-Fiction, Politics, Art
Publisher: Vintage
Review in one word: Electrifying
“Create Dangerously” is a short book of essays written in the 1950s by Albert Camus. Despite its age, its snappy insights feel immediately applicable to the current state of our world in 2025 and beyond. Camus touches on weighty topics like the role and responsibility of the artist, resisting fascism through artistic expression and rebellion, human freedom, love, beauty and despair and much more.
This week, a 4.5 billion year old #meteorite that glows eerily under light, evolution of the world’s alphabets in one cool #infographic, fudgy, chewy #chocolate brownies, honest global brand slogans, different kinds of #futurism and much more #ContentCatnip #InterestingThings
Yes! That Channing Tatum, the hot guy from the movies. This is wicked…
You told me God wasn’t real as we sat in the water in the dark that night I couldn’t see your eyes but I could feel the anger in the water. You said if there was and that god could let a child be violated it was not a god worth worship. Many other things were said on many nights in that angry water Mostly talk of power soaked in booze and fear
So it’s safe to say I’ve never known religion I still hear your voice say “Worshipping anything is for fools” over the dull sound of the football on TV I always imagine clowns on bikes with baskets on the front Honking and riding in circles
But my great secret is that I have always felt you Felt angels. Felt love. Felt the magic of so deeply caring for another I never knew what exactly to call it. Now as I write this maybe that’s what worship has been for me
I’ve heard it said, god is love. Maybe my way to worship is to love. Every person I meet. As reckless or stupid as that can be. But I also worship my bedsheets, my favorite pillow. I worship the feeling right before I drink coffee, the smell of breakfast
I have loved so much as I have drifted through this life. Loved so hard I almost loved myself right out of this world because it was all too much But now I surrender at the feet of each day that I get to experience beauty, the warmth of love Sun on my skin
I have never known religion but I’ve always known you. My love. Love. Love. I will always worship love. I surrender my love always. I surrender my love forever.
In 2000, a hiker in the Fukang Mountains, China, stumbled upon an extraordinary find—a stony-iron meteorite that would become the world’s most celebrated. Known as the Fukang meteorite, this specimen is a rare pallasite meteorite, consisting of olivine crystals embedded in a nickel-iron matrix. The olivine, typically vibrant green but sometimes yellow, brown, or gold due to earthly weathering, creates a striking, honeycomb-like structure when cut and polished. Pallasites, named after Peter Simon Pallas who described a similar meteorite in 1772, offer a glimpse into the deep interior of our Solar System. Formed 4.5 billion years ago in differentiated asteroids, these meteorites represent less than 0.2% of all known meteorites, making them extraordinarily rare and valuable. The Fukang meteorite’s stained glass appearance, revealed after it was cut into slices, led to high demand and significant value, although it famously failed to sell at a 2008 auction. Via IFL Science
This is absolutely fascinating! It’s possible to see the similar shapes of letters morphing over the millennia and centuries, wonderful! Via Cool Guides Reddit.
Artist and activist Sarah Gilman’s ode to the ephemeral beauty of lichen and how it has so much to teach us about our lives. From the wonderful magazine for environmental change-makers Yes!
James R. Eads is a Los Angeles-based illustrator blending Impressionism and fantasy to create vibrant, dreamlike landscapes. His art features exotic birds, half-sunken boats, and swirling, star-filled skies, brought to life with vivid, dappled brush strokes. Deeply influenced by music, Eads has worked with bands such as The Black Keys, Leon Bridges, and Iggy Pop.
Inspired by concepts like many-worlds theory, Eads explores themes of multiple universes and timelines in his pastel series Many, Many Paths. Read more on Colossal.
Kazuki Okuda, an illustrator from Kyoto, Japan, is celebrated for his intricate digital artworks featuring whimsical characters. This award-winning artist’s diverse portfolio includes book illustrations, advertising, fashion, and animation. Each piece Okuda creates is intricate colourful narrative, inviting viewers to delve into his imaginative world and uncover hidden stories. His work is a testament to his boundless creativity and meticulous attention to detail. I love the giant cats and dragonflies I am intrigued! To explore more of Kazuki Okuda’s enchanting illustrations, visit his website. Via Inspiration Grid
“The real things haven’t changed. It is still best to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what we have; to be happy with simple pleasures; and have courage when things go wrong.”
~ Laura Ingalls Wilder
“The real things haven’t changed. It is still best to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what we have; to be happy with simple pleasures; and have courage when things go wrong.”
~ Laura Ingalls Wilder
Did you enjoy this collection? let me know what you think of it below. Thank you for reading my dear friends!
Today’s ancient word of the day is vernation. This is the genesis of new leaves sprouting during springtime. This is the arrangement of the buds as they erupt forth into the world.
Vernation comes from the Latin vernare, meaning to flourish, be verdant and also from Ver the Latin word for spring time. In ferns, vernation is, beautifully, “circinate” or rolled up into an intricate embrace.
The Tree by Jones Very (1885)
“I love thee when thy swelling buds appear And one by one their tender leaves unfold, As if they knew that warmer suns were near …” Nor longer sought to hide from winter’s cold; And when with darker growth thy leaves are seen To veil from view the early robin’s nest, I love to lie beneath thy waving skreen With limbs by summer’s heat and toil opprest; And when the autumn winds have stript thee bare, And round thee lies the smooth untrodden snow, When nought is thine that made thee once so fair, I love to watch thy shadowy form below, And through thy leafless arms to look above On stars that brighter beam when most we need their love.
“to spring as herbs do; to burgeon; to sing cheerfully as birds do; when bees begin to breed & bring forth new swarms; the ground waxeth green with grass; the old skin of an adder that he casteth in the spring; sometime age.” – variations on “vernare” in Cooper’s Thesaurus (1578)
Content Catnip 
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