tom bh
#Digital Nomad
#Meditator

The Sponge Relay

27 November 2015

When I left my flat in Bristol in 2015 to start my journey around the world I took a brand new sponge with me in honour of Sponge Watch. That sponge was then exchanged with a sponge from the host of the next place I stayed at. I then carried that sponge with me to the next host and ceremoniously made another exchange. And so on.

At first glance, this is indeed as strange as it looks. But I do have deeper reasons for it. The original Sponge Watch project was borne from a desire to observe and acknowledge the slow, almost imperceptively so, movement of impermanence all around us. Of course at the far end of the spectrum impermanence reminds us of our, and ultimately the universe’s, unavoidable demise. Yet this demise moves so slowly that we often don’t notice it: a fact somewhat out of balance with its significance. For me Sponge Watch was a cute and slightly satirical attempt to readdress that balance. To show that even the most mundane of everyday objects possessed the poignance of impermanence.

And so with expert consultancy and brainstorming with Marvin Slow and Tom Heath The Sponge Relay project was born. I hope it promotes cross-cultural understanding of the ordinary yet profound and universal truth of the brief, yet magical, opportunity we have to live, laugh and wash dishes.

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