Calm in 40 Images: The art of finding serenity

A small “museum”—in book form— of calm 

A psychological guidebook that can help to quieten our worries and bring on a new mood of serenity and ease. 

Knowing how to be calm is one of life’s greatest skills. It doesn’t matter how well our own life is going; if our mind is frantic, happiness will always be just out of reach. 

The third title in the '40 Images' series, Calm in 40 Images is a comprehensive guide to the art of calm. Featuring the work of photographers and artists including Hiroshi Sugimoto, Gustav Klimt, Gwen John, Johannes Vermeer and Edward Hopper, alongside essays to invite contemplation, it takes us systematically through the many things that unsettle us and arrives at a range of solutions to ease our spirits. Gustav Klimt’s Pear Tree (1903) reminds us that we do not need a life of fame or melodramatic relationships, we should instead make our peace with so-called ordinariness. Mark Salamon’s photograph, The Rays (2020), accompanies a guided anxiety-reducing exercise that we can partake in when the noise of the day has subsided. 

We are invited not just to understand calm, but to appreciate it with our eyes and, more crucially, discover it with all of our senses. 

Companion book to Confidence in 40 Images and Self-Knowledge in 40 Images. Pair with the Stoicism Cards for insights into building resilience and calm.

The School of Life is here to help you learn, heal and grow. We are devoted to bringing you calm, self-understanding, better relationships, deeper friendships, greater effectiveness at work and more fulfilment in your leisure time. 

We do this via our books, our app, our films, our therapeutic services and our corporate offering.

The School of Life Press brings together the thinking and ideas of The School of Life creative team under the direction of series editor, Alain de Botton.