crazies

"The house is off-limits to children, and adults are asked to sign a waiver when they enter. The main concern is the concrete floor, which rises and falls like the surface of a vast, bumpy chocolate chip cookie."

My first reaction to this NYT article was that these people are crazy. This is a house they designed that is supposed to "oppose death" because "it's immoral that people have to die." Apparently, "[i]ts architecture makes people use their bodies in unexpected ways to maintain equilibrium, and that...will stimulate their immune systems." So the house looks like this:



"In addition to the floor, which threatens to send the un-sure-footed hurtling into the sunken kitchen at the center of the house, the design features walls painted, somewhat disorientingly, in about 40 colors; multiple levels meant to induce the sensation of being in two spaces at once; windows at varying heights; oddly angled light switches and outlets; and an open flow of traffic, unhindered by interior doors or their adjunct, privacy."

I think it's important to note that these people are artists, not scientists. BUT this is the part of the story that made me think that there's more to this couple than a bad case of the crazies:

"All of it is meant to keep the occupants on guard. Comfort, the thinking goes, is a precursor to death; the house is meant to lead its users into a perpetually “tentative” relationship with their surroundings, and thereby keep them young."

Equating comfort with death is a bit shocking, but they do have a point. Isn't this related to the origins of what we do as AIESECers and nomads? Obviously we don't take it to these extremes [or perhaps we take it further than this couple does, just in a different way]... I know that pushing past the concept of comfort is something I do habitually in my life. It sounds somewhat threatening, but the minute I'm comfortable and happy, I'm not growing at capacity anymore. Happiness is a symptom of comfort, so when I'm really content and happy (which are two different things, btw), I know I need to find something else to push that comfort away, in one or many aspects of my life. I cultivate small comforts with which I surround myself to offset the tentativeness I encourage in my life.

“Instead of being fearful of losing your balance, look forward to it.”

What an awesome way to go about life. Don't be afraid of the discomfort; plant seeds of uncertainty and spontenaity to allow for impulsiveness and opportunities for growth to be harvested at the right time.

The couple's work “makes people think through what they wouldn’t normally think through," an idea related to this one (especially syd's last comment on the post) that I've been thinking about a lot lately.

In other news, my birthday weekend is rockin' with the perfect amount of chill and an appropriate dash of missing my favorite non-Doha people. I feel so lucky to be where I am right now (in so many ways)... I couldn't ask for anything more.