What you focus on grows

#96: Honing in on the right things and making time to feel

“The path isn’t a straight line; it’s a spiral. You continually come back to things you thought you understood and see deeper truths.”

BARRY H. GILLESPIE

In today’s issue of Miscellanea: a preface, 2 things that have been on my mind, some iPhone snaps, and a few links. Scroll to the bottom for Charlie Brown; like and comment for my love.

Bienville Washerteria, 2022

I’ve been telling myself for months that I’d get back into writing this newsletter regularly and for good. I do this every year.

There are many reasons for the start-and-stop nature of Miscellanea, but none more so than my own fear that whatever I send out is not good enough. Not ready. Not perfect. Not quite there.

I’m not here, as I have been many times before, to self-denigrate and somehow coax myself into writing more, photographing more, being better.

The truth is, it’s easy to stop believing in your work when you stop sharing it with the world. Great artists are perceived prolific because they have learned to balance working in silence and showing their work.

You’ll be hearing more from me.

P.S. If you like newsletters and reading and that’s kinda your thing, Substack now has an app where you can read posts, interact with them, and support all the talented writers that Substack is home to. And — Miscellanea won’t get lost in your inbox anymore! Download below.

2 things, maybe related 💭

1. MAKE TIME TO FEEL THINGS

My recent transition to full time freelance has meant more stress. In learning to manage that, I’ve found that whenever I know I have something intimidating on the horizon, I’m better off saving the anxiety for the hour leading up to it. It probably sounds like procrastination? But it works for me.

As far as I can surmise, scheduled anxiety is managed anxiety is less anxiety. I’ve been able to let myself, essentially, save the stress for later — which frees my mind to operate from a steadier vantage point. Obviously, this could look a little different for everyone and its certainly not foolproof. But I think that setting aside some time to just let the difficult things be what they are is important.

2. WHAT YOU FOCUS ON GROWS

I played a lot of baseball as a kid. Sometimes, when they needed someone to throw strikes, they’d put me in to pitch. I could be counted on for strikes. It was a great feeling! One minor problem: sometimes we’d be playing my best friend’s team and my nerves would kick in — I wanted to perform well and impress my best friend.

All I could think about when pitching against him was him! My focus on the strike zone, and what little technique I had, completely diminished in front of my friend. I’m not lying to you when I tell you that every time I pitched against him I hit him and walked him. The ball, unfailingly, went where my focus was. Attention begets attention. What you focus on grows.

iPhone snaps of nice light lately

True miscellanea 🔗

The age of average 📝
“Our visual culture is flatlining and the only cure is creativity. It’s time to cast aside conformity. It’s time to exorcise the expected. It’s time to decline the indistinguishable. For years the world has been moving in the same stylistic direction. And it’s time we reintroduced some originality.”

Patience With What Is Strange: In Praise Of Slow Art 📝
“Everything demands our attention. A ceaseless stream of electronic information and entertainment flows through and around us. Attention spans shrink, and we struggle to focus on anything for more than a few minutes.”

Bored Couples 📸
“A look back at Martin Parr’s photo book Bored Couples, depicting twenty bored couples who have run out of things to say to each other.”