“Miss? Miss? Are you okay, Miss?” I could hardly breathe. I stood on the edge of the ravine, deep in the Himalayas, and squinted to see the river below. 1 mile? 2 miles down? Hard to know. I was dizzy. My hands were sweating. I all of a sudden became aware that my ankles felt…
Your Most Sacred Charge {Aesthete Aperture}
Hey, Everyone! This is Susie deVille, Founder & CEO of the Innovation & Creativity Institute. In today’s episode of the Aesthete Aperture, we are going to the Lake Sequoyah dam in Highlands, NC at day break. The dam keeps the lake levels in check, and lets the overflow spill into the Cullasaja River. Without this…
How Leaky Is Your Bucket?
I was a mother of three children under the age of 12 years old, and I was exhausted. The call came at 8:30 on a Sunday morning. I heard the phone ringing off in the distance, even though it was propped up right beside me on the nightstand. I had gone to bed the night…
What Lies Beneath {Aesthete Aperture}
Hey, Everyone! This is Susie deVille, Founder & CEO of the Innovation & Creativity Institute. In today’s episode of the Aesthete Aperture, we are going to Blue Valley, where the fall leaves are at their very peak. Soft breezes are gently releasing the leaves and watching them fall in a swirling dance is hypnotic. Any…
The Frozen Sea Inside Us
“We need the books that affect us like disaster, that grieve us deeply, like the death of someone we loved more than ourselves, like being banished into forests far from everyone, like a suicide. A book must be the axe for the frozen sea inside us.” ~ Franz Kafka The first time I read Kafka’s…
Wabi-sabi
In 1960, my dad opened a retail shop on Highlands’ Main Street that was a complete reflection of his deep love of and respect for Asian culture, artifacts, and art. His shop, the Stone Lantern, is filled with treasures from overseas, and each item has a story that reveals when and where it was made,…
