Pause
Whether through forces beyond our control, or our own drive to succeed, we are sometimes—perhaps seldom, or perhaps more often—called to take pause. For some, it is not a natural thing. And increasingly, until this latest hard stop, we have been more able to compartmentalize, and ignore the call for pause when it was not convenient, or when it might require much more of our inner strength than we think we have to spare.
But not now. This pause affects each and every one of us differently, but in its universality, it is an equalizer of sorts. There is no compartmentalization. And that is a positive. It is one of respectively few instances of our human existence that the total “we” have been summoned to act in unison, with an understanding that we are one.
We have paused. Now what?
One of the things that makes us human is that we are able to imagine a reality beyond our present circumstances. We are an optimistic species. Sometimes we get it right, and sometimes not. But, regardless, as many of us are realizing, it is time for a reassessment, perhaps a realigning of values, of priorities… a wake-up call to the things left unattended to, or ignored, or worse, rejected as fantasy.
If we—you, and me—can see this opportunity for what it is: not a suggestion, but a mandate for pause. If we can look through new lenses at what we are contributing, where we are not, where we can galvanize action or ideas or others, where we can eliminate, where we can bolster, and offer value, then we begin to understand the level at which we can operate but rarely find the time to do so.
As designers… as ones who see challenges as opportunities for creative solutions, ways to push boundaries, and embrace chaos as a canvas, we welcome this moment to bring to the surface, literally and figuratively, the new ‘possible’. We not only invite, but beg for the opportunity to dig, to dive. And DEEP.
What we believe, and have believed from the beginning as a basis for our founding, is an unmistakable recognition that we—each of us, and collectively—need… have needed… and will continue to need (perhaps even more if we are to survive technological growth) pause.
Momentary pause might be taking a few more moments to consider the place of anything or anyone into our life, for interaction, or to become part of the canvas upon which we share meals, go to sleep, awake with hope for a new day, practice yoga, share conversation, share life, feed love, become enriched, bolster energy, and fortify ourselves and others. Is it additive? Is it destructive or harmful? Is it enriching, or bolstering? Is it necessary? Is it elevating?
More lasting pause necessarily takes the form of all that surrounds us. Of all that we decide to expose ourselves to, to take in, to consider, to process, to embody, and to affect our consciousness, for the positive, or to our detriment. Our spaces… our habitats—whether work, home or leisure—w ill be ever more important as we embrace those places to escape to, and to thrive within, to find pause.
These coveted, sacred, worthy spaces must be intentionally created and produced. And all of their elements—products, designs, images, graphics, and all sensory influences—chosen and employed with care. That’s where we come in.
What we as designers, as developers, as producers, as influencers, can affect, are offerings at the highest level, of pause.
—Steffany
