{"id":10583,"date":"2025-04-29T15:57:08","date_gmt":"2025-04-29T19:57:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/why-whimsy-is-having-a-moment-2\/"},"modified":"2025-04-29T15:57:08","modified_gmt":"2025-04-29T19:57:08","slug":"why-whimsy-is-having-a-moment-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/why-whimsy-is-having-a-moment-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Whimsy Is Having a Moment"},"content":{"rendered":"

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I’m a huge fan of whimsy. Whimsy makes ordinary objects feel special; it makes everyday moments feel memorable; it adds playfulness and energy to life.<\/p>\n

So I’m always delighted to discover some touch of whimsy–a\u00a0robot vacuum named\u00a0Cleanopatra,\u00a0<\/i>googly eyes on a train car (thank you, Boston), a Tupperware container that warns:\u00a0Steal this and suffer.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

I’ve included many touches of whimsy in my apartment. For instance, I have three miniature landscapes–a secret garden set in a bookshelf, a mermaid lagoon set in a different bookshelf, and best of all, a mountain scene set in a kitchen cabinet. I love seeing visitors’ surprise when they open the door to take a glass or a plate, and instead confront this tiny scene.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Moments of whimsy make us laugh; surprise us where we expect the ordinary; add a humorous touch to reminders, rules, and reprimands; and show us that life doesn\u2019t always have to be\u00a0 serious.<\/p>\n

Whimsy appears in the most unlikely places–including very formal, rule-bound places. The research university MIT has a reputation for being serious and rigorous–but each year, the school releases its college-acceptance decisions on March 14 (Pi Day). Whenever I return to Yale Law School, I look for the stone carvings above the main door that show students dozing over their books as a professor yells, “Wake up!” And, in one of my favorite examples of whimsy, my beloved state of Nebraska chose “Honestly, it’s not for everyone” as its unconventional tourist slogan.<\/p>\n

What is whimsy, exactly?<\/b><\/h2>\n

Whimsy is the addition of some imagination and surprise to daily life.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It might show up in a goofy name for an event on your calendar or how you decorate your desk.<\/p>\n

For novelty lovers, something unexpected can make familiar routine feel more energizing. For Rebels\/\/\u2013people who resist rigidity and dislike being told what to do\u2013whimsy might even feel like a bit of welcome defiance when it seems like everyone expects maximum efficiency at all times.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Why we reach for whimsy<\/b><\/h2>\n

I remember seeing a photo of one family’s household rules. The heading read, in large capital letters: HEINOUS INFRACTIONS. Beneath it was a list of entirely ordinary chores\u2013clean up your dishes, pick up your shoes, no throwing balls in the living room\u2013presented in absolutely dire language. It worked!\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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The whimsy of wrapping the rules in such melodramatic terms made the message far less annoying.<\/p>\n

Recently, whimsy seems to be having a moment. It has popped up in online conversations, design trends, and seemingly just about everywhere.<\/p>\n

Last month, when I asked people to share whimsical things they do<\/a>, responses poured in. The answers ranged from keeping bubbles by the door to baking elaborate gingerbread houses to making up personalized songs about family members.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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As reading this list demonstrates, it\u2019s tremendously cheering to consider examples of whimsy.<\/p>\n

Whimsy is an impulse toward delight. In The Marriage of Heaven and Hell<\/em>, William Blake wrote \u201cEnergy is Eternal Delight.\u201d And I would flip that observation to say, \u201cDelight is Energy.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section><\/div>\n

The post Why Whimsy Is Having a Moment<\/a> appeared first on Gretchen Rubin<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Profit<\/a>
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I’m a huge fan of whimsy. Whimsy makes ordinary objects feel special; it makes everyday moments feel memorable; it adds playfulness and energy to life. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-habits"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10583"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10583\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}