"Despite everything, I believe people are really good at heart."
Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl
Believing doesn't always mean certainty.
Sometimes it's a choice to continue even when you don't know for sure and the outcome isn't clear.
Today I'm practicing believing in myself and the power of community by staying with this Season for Nonviolence intention.
"It is the time you have wasted on your rose that makes your rose so important."
Antoine de Saint-Exupery, The Little Prince
Caring shows up in how I handle things, not only how I feel about them. This crisp origami paper from Japan holds and shows every crease I make, carefully or carelessly.
Today I'm practicing caring by cherishing and being gentle with what's in my hands.
"Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well."
- Voltaire
Appreciation begins with recognizing the goodness, beauty or efforts of others and then offering respect by acknowledging it.
I don't design origami (yet). I appreciate the designs of others and using the paper I have available, I create my unique versions of them.
Today I'm practicing appreciation by crediting those designers and sincerely saying thank you. Without your hard work and heartfelt efforts to share, I wouldn't have so many lovely choices of models to fold and express myself with.
I appreciate you!
Special thanks also to the creators of and on Pinterest, YouTube, and other social media platforms. Without those technologies my repertoire would be so much smaller.
"Peace begins with a smile."
- Mother Teresa
Smiling is easy to dismiss as superficial, but today I'm paying attention to how profound it really is. When my face softens, something deeper seems to soften too.
This little vignette reminds me that small shifts can change both the expression and the impression, and they can be contagious.
Today I'm seeing what happens when I let that softness show more freely.
"Courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves be seen."
- Brene Brown
Courage doesn't always look dramatic.
Today, it is simply beginning. Knowing I won't do this perfectly and starting anyway.
Sometimes that's enough.
"Only when it's dark enough, can you see the stars."
Martin Luther King Jr.
Tomorrow, January 30th, marks the beginning of the Season for Nonviolence, a 64-day practice observed internationally between the anniversaries of the deaths of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
This year, I'm choosing to enter this season through a personal daily practice: folding paper, paying attention, and spending a few minutes each day with one of the values connected to nonviolence.
This isn’t a teaching series or a set of instructions. It’s simply a record of practice, what I’m noticing, what I’m trying, what feels possible on a given day.
Origami slows me down. It asks for care, patience, and a willingness to begin again. That feels like a useful place to stand right now.
If this practice offers something to you, a pause, a thought, a moment of steadiness, you’re welcome to take what you find useful and leave the rest.
Click the links below if you'd like to explore this more deeply in your own way.
Specifically, I’ll be following the Season for Nonviolence values as outlined by the Gandhi Foundation, alongside reflection prompts developed by the Gandhi Institute.
Mostly, though, I’ll just be folding one day at a time.
The term comes from the Bible and emphasises that the pursuit of worldly possessions is futile compared the goal of heavenly salvation. It encourages the audience to reflect and repent.
I hope this fly pin makes a softer statement - Less warning, more witness.
As origami ages, creases soften and colors fade.
I could seal my works with some kind of resin or shellac but I don't - not to neglect preservation, but as a practice of appreciation and attention.
In my mind, sealing paper feels false. I would rather let it age with me. I know what will remain is not the object, but a memory and the invitation to fold again.
Unlike an oil painting, this pin doesn't aspire to a museum. It aspires to be brought to life on a jacket or a bag, touched by sunlight and hands and one day, become compost, fertile material for growth.
It is an art, this presence and release. As you can see from the irony of my archived photos and words, it's one I'm still practicing.
