Welcome, Attention Seekers!
Stay awhile and rest your weary mind.
Welcome, Attention Seekers!
You know the drill by now: Every day there’s a new reason to panic. We’re lonelier than ever and addicted to our screens. The siren song of convenience and consumerism grows ever more alluring. We spend less and less time with the people and things that nourish us, more and more time in an insulated bubble that the algorithms made just for us. We’ve become disengaged and easily manipulated and none of us really opted in to this.
The alarm has been sounded! But short of completely bugging out and moving off grid, it’s hard to know what to do about it.
That’s what ATTENTION SEEKERS will explore: how we can push back and recover our powers of attention to live a slower, more embodied, more intentional, more creative, more connected life. And while tech is a big part of this conversation, it’s only a part. This will be about a lot more than just the tech we use.
If that sounds good to you, then sign up to get regular dispatches. This is a new endeavor so we’ll see how it evolves over the coming months but posts will likely include interesting reads and conversations, creative exercises, meditations, spotlights on others doing similar work, and more.
Next week
What do we even mean when we talk about “attention”?
The screen time stat that was my turning point
Updates from my own attention practices of late
A few small links
Who am I and why should you listen to me?
Idk, maybe you shouldn’t, decide for yourself!
I’m Cat. I’m a generalist by nature with a curious mind and a deep interest in how other people are making their way through this life. I’ve taught yoga and meditation for over 10 years and know how the simplest tools can be the most transformative and the most sustainable. I’ve also been addicted to various social media platforms and a lifestyle of convenience and complacency. I’m probably a lot like you if you’re still interested enough to be reading this!
I’m a librarian-turned-UX designer and a lifelong bookworm. On any given weekend you can find me haunting our local coffee shops, indie cinema, and secondhand bookshops. I’m at the mercy of our basset hounds and their every whim. I’m learning the harmonium and how to play tennis (I’m not very good at either). I’m learning the names of the trees on my block and trying to memorize poems.
Most importantly, I’m trying to figure out how to inhabit my own life more intentionally when so much of our tech and our social structures have been designed for us to do just the opposite. And I think that starts with our attention.
I hope you’ll join me!
