(Excerpt from newsletter)

From ancient Indian traditions, the complex belief system Kālacakra has been handed down, which literally means "Wheel of Time". The idea, very simply put, is that the world goes through great cosmic cycles in which universes arise and pass away. Each phase of arising is followed by a phase of dissolution. Each phase of dissolution is followed by a phase of arising.

Sounds a bit Buddhist, and it is. The cycle corresponds to the classic Buddhist notion that everything arises, passes away, and arises again.

Even without an affinity for karma and singing bowls, one recognizes such cycles in our lives: from arising (of an idea, a project, a feeling) to dissolution (failure, bankruptcy, divorce). But that's never the end! Even if one doesn't believe it at the moment of dissolution, there is always another phase afterwards, which is usually quite different from what was expected.

Anyone who is a little older knows that the trick to a good life is not to struggle with these phases, but to accept that they do not last forever. So, to be able to enjoy the moment of joy, without the claim that it would last forever. And to endure phases of darkness, knowing that every tunnel has an end. Nothing is permanent, everything passes. The good is already inherent in the bad and the bad in the good.

In Buddhist terms: Liberation does not mean breaking the cycle, but recognizing it.

 

Rules of thumb for collaboration

The digital agency mutoco from Bern brought Roman and Tobias Gutmann (Face-o-Mat) together. Together, they conceived, sorted, and designed 10 x 10 rules of thumb for collaboration. 100 exclusive unique pieces were created. Here is a digital clin d'oeil.