life as a mosaic

going beyond the first and second dimensions

Contemporary life is absent accountability, it is absent encouragement, and it is absent community. Particularly for men. Our vision is a world served by better men: fathers, husbands, sons, brothers, uncles, friends, lovers, workers and humans. Become part of project kathekon by subscribing below.

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Community. That is the heart of what project kathekon strives to provide. The weekly newsletter and its comments; the mutual accountability and encouragement found in 10thousand1; the shared reading experience of the book barter service. Back in June, we started to hear from you, the community, when Daniel Hill shared his thoughts on the enemy of happiness. Daniel went first, but he isn’t the last.

Meet Andrew Amato. You already encountered Andrew when he put forward a book to barter. Andrew’s a self-proclaimed searcher. He loves searching for new relationships, interests, experiences, understandings about the world, and our place within it. He joined project kathekon for mentorship, camaraderie, and learning from others who share his relentless determination to become a better person.

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By Andrew Amato

Maxing out hours at the office and tabs at the bar, I was in my mid-20s and realized I was in the vicious cycle that many of us get caught up in. Our singular priority is to "get ahead", whether it be in our jobs or within our friend circles. And no matter how much money we earn or recognition we realize, we still find ourselves dreading Sunday through Wednesday and living for Friday and Saturday. Our lives feel like revolving doors that get faster and faster, eventually come to sudden, screeching halts.

This was my life for a long time, and I'm not going to lie, I still find myself in the revolving-door mentality from time to time.

However, over the last few years -  especially since I turned 30 - I've learned to take a wildly different approach.

I've realized how important it is to think of ourselves like artists creating mosaics that are rich with colorful patterns and imagery. Broad and multi-layered, our visions of ourselves - within the context of the mosaic metaphor - not only include the paints, but also the materials, textures and designs.

If we choose one paint, one style, one texture, or one material, it looks and feels limited, like a life contained within the 4-walls of the city it was born.

More importantly, if we're completely unaware of our choices, the opportunity to flourish quickly escapes us. We're doomed to be average, strangled by the vicious cycle mentioned earlier. 

There's no better investment than in understanding and immersing ourselves in the areas of our lives that form a beautiful, memorable mosaic - spending time in nature, meditating, listening to and learning about your significant other, improving the health of your body, making new friends, having new experiences...

Your happiness and the happiness of those around you greatly depend on it. 

What does your mosaic look like?

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It takes courage to be vulnerable and put oneself out there. Cheers to you for stepping forward, Andrew.

in case you missed it

Let’s have a look at what’s been happening at project kathekon:

recently at project kathekon

We channeled our inner Hemingway while opening up about an emotional nadir and the importance of nascent and deep friendships. In the comments, we heard from William:

Too many men have less and less contact with their old friends as the years go on, and they don’t seem interested in making new friends.

books, jerry. they (still) read books.

We recently introduced project kathekon’s book barter service. We now have two books to barter.  The first book on offer is Together by Dr. Vivek Murthy from Jeremy.

Our second, Lincoln’s Virtues: An Ethical Biography, was offered by this week’s author, Andrew.

Already read one of them? Feel free to let others know in the comments section of each to let us know what you think. Have a book to share?

we’re deep into july’s 10thousand1 challenge

Last week’s newsletter showed how 10thousand1 isn’t just about the challenge. It’s about people needing people. This month the challenge is seconds of bridge holds. Base on how we’re feeling, there’s still time left to get in quite a few seconds of them, even if 10thousand1 seems out of reach. Join us. You may also make a friend you didn’t know you needed.

We have more in store for you. Until then, we encourage you to subscribe if you haven’t already, or share it with someone if you have already.