Bryan

What is a ritual, practice, or routine in your life that is important for your psychological wellbeing and/or fulfillment? Why?

Spencer

I like looking for repeated patterns or motions of life in the environment. I suppose you could call it looking for the details of life that you don't normally notice. This could be looking for the moon whenever I look up at the sky or noticing the shadows and light dancing in reflections on the street or even paying attention to the way people hold their phones—how they cradle their devices. I like narrowing in on one specific theme (the moon, shadows and light, phone holding, etc.) and watching how it evolves over time or from person to person, place to place.

I think it's one of my most foundational rituals not only for my creativity but also for my overall joy. On one hand, it constantly reminds me how to be present and actually look at things and especially the patterns our mind might ignore for efficiency. At the same time, I'm always filled with a sense of wonder and warmth considering these seemingly small but also incredibly beautiful and intricate phenomena that we are surrounded by. It reminds me how much of our outlook is shaped by what we pay attention to.

...looking for the details of life that you don't normally notice

Bryan

What is a human-made creation that brings out the best in you? Why?

Spencer

My mind goes to public spaces where people can gather in and simply loiter. I touched on it in my above answer, but it dramatically changes my day to go sit in a park and watch people. Even better if I'm hanging out with people I love at the same time. I think being together is pretty core to our purpose as humans, and public spaces are the infrastructural backbone that support it. If I were to highlight a specific object as part of this, I'd highlight public benches. I love that they are too big for a single person or even a couple, so you're likely to share it with others. They're also often set up in close proximity so each group is right next to each other. What kinds of conversations might you overhear? What connections might spontaneously form?

I think being together is pretty core to our purpose as humans

Bryan

When do you cherish the slow or hard way of doing something? Why?

Spencer

When it comes to getting from place to place, I cherish the slow way. I take public transit, bike, and walk. I prefer to move slower because it means I can decide to deviate from my original destination and wander. I try to plan for extra time to get to places to account for these scenic detours. The reason goes back to my first two answers of making space to be around people and to notice the details of the world.

Bryan

What is something you appreciate or long for from the past? Why?

the chance to do something radically different for dedicated amounts of time.

Spencer

I miss the summer after graduating college and before starting my first job. It was the first summer I had "free" to do whatever I wanted (the other ones being filled by internships), and I got the chance to do something completely different from my normal focuses—teach English in Taiwan. As a Taiwanese-American, the experience allowed me to create my own story in my cultural heritage. Broadly, I think it should be normal for all professions to support working in "seasons" to give people the chance to do something radically different for dedicated amounts of time.