Catalog of small beauties

a few lovely things I've foraged recently

Hi! 

Things have been quiet here on Restful. Hope you’ve been well.

Just wanted to come on here to share a few lovely things I’ve foraged recently. This may be the start of a new series, maybe not. I owe some of you responses on your submissions and I’m currently working to get another editor on board to join me. 

Happy weekend!

- Immaculata

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In 2020, I very nearly went down the Divinity training route. Many things had brought me to that decision junction and one of them was finding Casper ter Kuile and his projects such as the Sacred Design Lab and Nearness. His portfolio and approach may interest you most if you’re the kind of person seeking to straddle a spiritual calling and public policy. 

From Casper’s website:

“Hello! I’m Casper ter Kuile. My work explores how we’ll make meaning, deepen our relationships, and experience beauty in the 21st century. Whether convening, studying, writing, or speaking; I’m always weaving together tradition and innovation, levity and profundity, the secular and the sacred.

At my best, I find ways to ennoble the everyday and create the conditions for joyful belonging. You’ll find me happiest when I’m harmony folk singing, gathering people together, or stopping for a tea break on a long country walk.”

I was reminded this week of his work at The Nearness, a spiritual community for people who don't vibe with organized religion (much like my dear people at The Table Community NG). 

The Nearness is a community and curriculum design to help people reconnect with their spirituality. Through weekly discussions, expert guidance, and inspiring workshops, they aim to help people connect more deeply with themselves, the ones they love, and the people around them.

According to their website, they host programs where they gather groups of five or six people are matched up according to common interest or life stage. Programs last for ten weeks and take place as a series of videos calls, during which you’ll walk through conversation starters, readings, and exercises that have been developed by experts in spirituality, connection, and psychology. After the ten weeks conclude, groups are given a structure for ongoing gatherings. 

A discussion and activity guide helps participants take turns leading the group, keeping time so that everyone has the opportunity to contribute.

The group’s norms are upheld by a set of agreements — the summary of which is, “Listen with an open heart, and speak with kindness and humility.”

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Through Nearness, I met a lot of other people and organisations building delicious things that continue to inspire my dreams for Restful and Studio Styles at large. Maybe Ventures is one of them. They did the brand, web and graphic design for Nearness.

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Sacred Design Lab's latest report: How innovators around the world are responding to the spiritual longings of our time—and what they need from us now.

http://sacred.design/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Illuminating-Spiritual-Innovation_0724.pdf

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I recently received an email where the sender signed of:

God bless you, 

xyzabc. 

That was lovely to receive. 

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Podcast episode - Articles of Interest: Perfume

I’m currently ideating an essay that takes how integral smell is to our memory and our experience of life as its starting point. An easier alternative for me would be if the universe introduces me to someone who can write this essay as it pertains to their own life. (If that’s you, holla!)

I mentioned this to Kemi on the Studio Styles team and she recommended this episode of the Articles of Interest podcast. 

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I attended the Goethe Institut post-film post-archive workshop in June and I got to meet wonderful culture and heritage workers from different parts of Nigeria who are keeping faith in the value of memory. The curator of the project Ese Emmanuel is someone whose work and ethic inspire me. Watching and listening to the facilitator of the workshop Didi Cheeka breathed a lot of hope and inspiration into my life.  

One of the recovered films we got to engage with is Shaihu Umar, 1976 (trailer), directed by Adamu Halilu. ‘Based on a novel by Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, who later became Nigeria’s first prime minister, this landmark of Nigerian cinema—a work of immense beauty—was thought lost until recently. Set in northern Nigeria toward the end of the nineteenth century, SHAIHU UMAR starts with a discussion between Islamic students and their renowned teacher, the wise man Shaihu Umar (Umaru Ladan). Asked about his origins, Umar tells his story: of how he was separated from his mother and fell into slavery, how he overcame his circumstances to become an imam, and how, following a particular dream, he resolved to search for his mother.’ (words in quote from Criterion)

Here’s a booklet pdf with more information on the film and a few essays contributing to the discourse on archives of Nigerian film. It includes two essays by Didi.  

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Some tik-toks:

I miss this part of Summer 2023: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMra4co7f/

‘The moment it all set in for Messi’: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMra4cyST/

‘The time when my baby girl didn’t feel good and the doctors came to sing for her’ : https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMraqLh6X/ 

One thing that’s been pulling at me lately is ‘aw man people will laugh at me and think “ugh who does she think she is? here comes the villain and fake-ass revolutionary talking about some woo woo shit, of course.”’ the hater infestation in my lil brain has been real and this tik-tok was like bug spray: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMraV7Bug/