Mindful Act of Kindness

When my soon to be 10 year old girl was about 4, she was brushing her long golden hair. She looked up at me and asked 'why do I need to brush my hair each and every morning?' My response was 'because by doing so you respect yourself, and respect your friends and teachers'. 

I was never a fan of Feng Shui, or to be precise, its watered down western interpretation of it; Closing the toilet seat to prevent your money escaping your wallet, never have a staircase facing the front door, never put a chair with its back to the door - are some of the highlights I can off handedly suggest. 

But a few years ago I had this small epiphany of why it mattered in our world. Why habits like making sure you don't squeeze the toothpaste in the middle mattered, why making your bed every morning matters, why putting a fork and knife in the right order matters -why these seemingly mundane tedious, and routine things matter. They create order, they create balance, and for control freak megalomanic designers (hey we are paid to build 'worlds') are a code and key to understanding human interaction and behavior within different environments and spaces. 

These random daily routine acts are mindfully observed and broken down frame by frame to create a narrative for a space. These 'mindless' acts being thought of mindfully are the difference between getting furniture straight out of catalog, only to discover these don't make your house feel like a home. 

It's attention to details in ways that are not obvious to the user of the space, but they make the user feel good happy and safe. They make people feel like they are cared for, and not taken for granted, that even though you can't exactly pinpoint what it is that makes you feel connected, you know you are. That yes, even brushing your hair in the morning, matters. It's a small act of kindness to yourself signaling that you will also make sure to be kind to others. 

Bench (mark)*

An urban scape is a great testing ground for people watching and human behaviors. One of the nicest features in open public spaces are in my view benches. I always had an affinity with benches, something about the semi-public way of seating has a lot to be discussed about. Tel-Aviv, posses one of the finest urban scape I have had the privilege to live in, and visit frequently.

What I find most intriguing is the placement of benches, some are placed directly in front of the best ocean views, some face elevator doors, or uninteresting high traffic roadways.

Benches are perfect for defining public areas, an accurate placement of a bench can make or break a public zone.

Benches are places for human interaction, points of pivot, and moments of pause. They are perfect as  destination markers for you to get to. Some are majestic, artistic and FUN.

I find benches to be a social-democratic piece of furniture that guide you through space, allow who ever wants to sit on, to enjoy it together with another person, or alone.