Soft Fascination: A Gentler Way to Pay Attention
Somewhere near the eastern Colorado border, June 2nd, 2024
“When we surrender to “soft fascination,” we are not running from the world but ambling back to ourselves and our untrammeled multitudes, free to encounter parts of the mind we rarely access, free to acquaint different parts with one another so that entirely novel connections emerge.” ~Maria Popova, The Marginalian
“I want to feel that raw, elemental awe that my ancestors felt, rather than my tame, explained modern version. I want to prise open the confines of my skull and let in a flood of light and air and mystery… I want to retain what the quiet reveals, the small voices whose whispers can be heard only when everything falls silent.” ~Katherine May
Hi friends,
Today, I’m offering three prompts to try. Today, I want us to soften our gazes. I want us to know less, be less aimed and intentional in our writing. Let’s see what happens when we go quiet and allow for the unplanned.
First, a bit of good news to share. I recently learned that I’ve been chosen as a writer-in-residence at the Kerouac House in Orlando Florida from January 3rd-February 23rd of next year. I’ll be living in the home Jack Kerouac occupied when he wrote his sequel to On the Road, Dharma Bums. While there, I will give a couple of community readings and workshops, but mostly I’ll be focussing intensely on my story collection in-progress. So many thanks to the Kerouac Project for unanimously selecting me for this incredible opportunity, along with such a stellar cohort of writers who’ll be in residence at other points in the coming months. I’m thrilled! Find more information here: kerouacproject.org/writers
The photo above was taken yesterday, on the long trip home from my native Iowa back to Colorado. Those who know me even a little bit, know I’m obsessed with clouds. Yesterday afternoon was a treat. I love wide open spaces where you can see the sky for miles in all directions. It does something to my brain. Takes me out of myself. Suddenly, I feel more open and receptive, but not in a directed way. Not so much new ideas, but new connections form. Unintended, surprising ones. It’s the “soft fascination” Maria Popova mentions in the quote above.
Experiences like this simultaneously quiet and energize one’s mind. At least they do for me.
As writers we often hear the advice to “pay attention” (I’ve given this advice myself). I wonder sometimes if our nervous systems are simply too overloaded for such intentional cognitive exercise. Too much intense focus can be exhausting. We are too aimed in our endeavors. We want a specific outcome. We go in search of ideas without considering there may be a better, gentler way.
But maybe enough’s enough. We’re taxing our brains. By trying to rein in our attention and bend it to our creative will, trying to pay attention to everything we find ourselves unable to focus on anything.
DIRECTED ATTENTION VS. SOFT FASCINATION
Directed Attention:
Watching a tv drama
Research
Social Media
Brain fatigue from concentration
Soft fascination:
Staring at clouds
Walking in a forest
Floating on a lake
Consider Stephen and Rachel Kaplan’s Attention Restoration Theory about the restorative value of time spent in nature.
YOUR PROMPTS
PROMPT #1 Wondering / Wandering