Friday: Celebration or Routine?
The Kokorozashi Method & Analogy at The Table & Gallery
The Kokorozashi Method comes from Japan, and at its core it’s about aligning purpose, passion, and contribution, not just asking what do I want to do? but who do I want to become, and for whom?
It goes deeper than a personal mission statement. Kokorozashi integrates:
Heart (Kokoro 心): emotions, values, inner calling.
Aspiration (Zashi 志): the will to act, a vision beyond the self.
Together, it asks us to identify a life-purpose that serves not only our own fulfillment but also the greater good.
Business can have a heart, if it’s approached as more than transactions and profit margins. At its core, business is simply people coming together to create, exchange, and build. When the people behind it lead with empathy, purpose, and values, the business reflects that, it listens, it supports, it nurtures growth.
The Analogy
Imagine a tree:
Roots = your values and lived experiences (the source of your heart).
Trunk = your skills, education, and strengths (your unique capacity to act).
Branches = the directions your life could take (career, relationships, projects).
Fruit = your Kokorozashi: how your purpose nourishes others.
Without roots, the tree cannot grow strong. Without fruit, the tree doesn’t serve the ecosystem. Kokorozashi is about growing in alignment, so that your inner “why” becomes an outer gift to the world.
Connection to The Table & Gallery
The Kokorozashi Method mirrors what you’re building:
Art as the root (heart + story).
Community gatherings as the trunk (the container for connection).
Events and collaborations as the branches (expressions of creativity).
Transformation and well-being as the fruit (what guests and artists walk away with).
Your work becomes not just curation, but an act of purpose in motion—art as Kokorozashi.
This part is free.
It’s called life and “A Place I’ve Been” by Artist Andre Rochester
In September 2023, Andre Rochester was scheduled to exhibit his art at The Table & Gallery. A month before, we had already discussed his menu, the artwork, and the story behind it. But when September arrived, there was no sign of Andre or his pieces…no calls, no texts, no emails. I told myself, “He’s an artist, maybe he’s going through something.” I understood, being an artist myself, I know the importance of withdrawal; it fuels the work. Still, I knew this silence wasn’t like him.
“I almost died” states Andre when I picked up the phone to speak to him for the first time after a month or so from his near-death experience. It left me speechless.
Two years later, it’s now.
Artist Andre Rochester returns to The Table & Gallery with a profound exhibition. What he brings forward is the result of his journey, an experience transformed into art. There are no words that can fully capture how special this is, the honor of standing alongside someone who has faced the other side and chosen to share what he’s seen.
On September 27th, 2025, at The Table & Gallery, with the artist Andre Rochester and his story. It’s history in the making.
Watch the story here SUBSCRIBE & SUPPORT
Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there. I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning's hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry;
I am not there. I did not die.
"Immortality" by Clare Harner
