Sights & Sounds: Omoruyi Atekha
Common Discourse is a project designed to help others (and ourselves) think through creativity, focus, and intentional work—from Alex Tan & Alice Otieno.
Every Tuesday we share words from a few ideas, a quote from somebody else, and links worth sharing. On Fridays we invite a guest to share images from their camera roll and a sound that resonates with them. Words from the journal come on the first of every month.
Omoruyi Atekha is a designer based in New York and San Francisco. He currently works at Pollen research studio, and is studying for an MA at Stanford University.
I came across Omoruyi through Pollen’s Twitter account and was always intrigued as to what the research and curation process behind the page look like. I love how they’re able to source such a wide range of imagery, from different contexts, and still make it feel like it’s coming from the same world while evoking a consistent feeling — one of calm and respite.
Here’s what he shared with us!
— Alice
Sights —
To the unforeseen (what Philopoemen saw),
Over the last few months, honestly, over the previous year, I have experienced an endless sequence of unexpected events. Some good, some bad, and some simply unforeseen. I presume my general uneasiness towards recent events is related to the fact I have yet to experience a period such as ”shifty” and overall unexpected as the last year of my life. Whether it was the sudden deaths, the end of close friendships, the blooming ideas, the disproven hypotheses, or the spontaneous late-night walks, they are the twists and turns of the path of fortune. I recall reading The Prince, by Machiavelli, for a political philosophy class during undergrad, and being captivated by Machiavelli’s mention of Philopoemen, “the last of the Greeks.” Philopoemen was known for his constant preparedness and consideration of potential military situations, ensuring that there “could never arise, …, any unexpected circumstances that he could not deal with”. As I experience the tides of fortune, I hope to be as wise as Philopoemen, never standing idle but living in such a way to respond to the adversities of life so that if fortune, good or bad, chances me, I am prepared to resist its blows and receive its love. — Omoruyi
Sounds —
Thanks for consuming!
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