Recapitulation, a practice used by an ancient warrior tribe in Mexico, is the act of replenishing lost energy to oneself. Today, recapitulation is a meditation practice where, at the end of the day, you wind down by thinking in under 5 minutes all you did in that day. It’s a little bit of time to decompress, be mindful and feel your accomplishments. Well, what about applying it to an entire year?
The world moves so fast that it’s easy to get buried by the details, the emails. In thinking about 2016, we want to take stock of 2015. What did we accomplish, what do we want to do more of, what do we want to do differently, who do we want to work with?
“I think looking back at the year for anyone is empowering and keeps you going,” Ed says. “So this exercise of recapitulation is key.
As a small business owner, you wear many hats and are often overwhelmed and this exercise allows me to feel successful and energized for 2016.”
A few Stencil 1 2015 highlights:
February was a boon when we were awarded Product of the Year for our repeat pattern stencil kits. It’s a consumer-voted award, which felt extra gratifying.
Ed continues, “Events always feel great, since we tend to work in a bubble most the time.” (Speaking of our bubble, it just got a beautiful new makeover a la The Container Store, pics and story to come soon!)
“Seeing people embrace creativity keeps me going.” Last year, Stencil 1 participated in a variety of celebrations: Clarks Shoes’ 65th anniversary of their desert boot, a pop-up shop at Le Bon Marche in Paris, a community mural at the Brooklyn Museum for their show, Art Off the Wall: The Rise of Sneaker Culture, and a personalized T-shirt event with kids and teens in Miami at the Soho Beach House.
“I think the exercise in looking back and writing a list of your accomplishments, well, it gives you a boost for the year ahead and also reminds you of why you do what you do,” Ed says. “I design stencils and other creative tools to empower people with creativity and hopefully make them happier in some way.”
So what about you? We’d love to make this area of Stencil 1 a conversation space. Let us know what you’d like to see more of? What kinds of projects are you looking to do? How can we assist? We’ll be thinking of you in our daily recapitulation.