“The art of life lies in a constant readjustment to our surroundings.”
Documented source
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About this line
It comes from Okakura’s chapter on Taoism. The sentence before it: “Relativity seeks Adjustment; Adjustment is Art.” The one after: “Taoism accepts the mundane as it is.”
He’s describing a way of living with the present, which he calls “the moving Infinity.” It’s about fitting yourself to the world as you find it, not a plan for fixing yourself.
Why we carry this line
A reminder to not get stuck in your ways. Come home a different way. Sleep on the other side of the bed. In my case, a hurricane brought on multiple moves. Constant readjustment was my mantra.
The design
Three lines hold the left margin. The last one, “to our surroundings,” breaks away and settles at the far edge: the layout readjusts to reach them. Behind the middle of the sentence sits 和, the character for harmony, the first of the four principles of the tea ceremony. The whole composition refuses symmetry on purpose, a principle called fukinsei.
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