Pearls of Wisdom

Wardrobe Worries

Vanessa Friedman, chief fashion critic of The New York Times, was once asked by a reader (whose husband has very few items of clothing and believes in minimalism), “How many pieces of clothing do I actually need?” That’s a loaded question! In an attempt to answer the unanswerable, Ms. Friedman offered three perspectives. 1) A survey from ClosetMaid, found that the average American woman owned about 103 pieces of clothing. 2) The Pareto principle would suggest that 20% of one’s wardrobe is worn 80% of the time, and 3) From the book Marie Kondo’s Kurashi at Home: How to Organize Your Space and Achieve Your Ideal Life, “Taking the time to assess and make sure each garment serves a purpose and sparks joy in your life is more important than focusing on the amount of what you have.” (New York Times, October 10, 2022)

Shower Thoughts

Turns out that some of a person’s most creative thoughts may come to them while in the shower. In fact, a 2019 study of 98 professional writers and 87 physicists found that ideas that came to them away from their jobs were just as creative and important as the ones they had at work. While some researchers have suggested that such “mind-wandering” has a disruptive negative effect on performance, the author of this study feels that “mind-wondering,” which is playful and curious, may actually be helpful. According to another study, most creative, spontaneous thoughts were reported during a moderately engaging activity rather than a boring one. (Washington Post, January 12, 2023)

Karma Anyone?

In January 2010, a pair of young sisters, (2 ½ years old and 5 years old) responded to a fund-raising drive in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, after a devastating earthquake in Haiti had killed thousands of people and left much of the country in ruins. When the local chapter of the Red Cross set up a donation table during a Greyhounds hockey game, the sisters donated the entire $61.38 that they had saved in their piggy bank. On January 7, 2023, 18-year-old Juliette Lamour (the older of the two sisters) won a $48-million lottery jackpot, making her the youngest winner of such an enormous payout. Incredibly, it was the first lottery ticket she had ever purchased. She stopped at a convenience store to buy some ice cream for a visit with her grandfather and when she called to ask him what flavour he wanted, he urged her to buy a ticket now that she was 18. Juliette works as a part-time pharmacist’s assistant in the Soo while she studies biology at Algoma University. The windfall won’t change her priorities. She will continue with her four-year program, with a goal to attend the Northern Ontario School of Medicine and come back to practice in Northern Ontario. After the win, she said, “Money doesn’t define you. It’s the work you do that will define you.” Wise indeed. (SooToday, February 5, 2023)