Dear Friend,
Welcome back to #StudioNotes! Thank you for being here. It's been rough out there so I pray my words today can be a healing balm for the tension we collectively feel.
Last week, I left you with a challenge: to start with why. How did this feel for you? Did it lend you a sense of purpose, disturb you, or inspire you to take new action? Were you excited by the soul-searching or did you feel a little insane getting to the core of reason? Take a moment to recall how you felt.
Now hold that thought, feel that energy, and label that emotion because this week's theme is pay attention.
We live in interesting times. We're hyperconnected yet also disconnected from ourselves and maybe those closest to us. We're overfed with practical information yet starved of the focus needed to move with intention. We've never been more openly liberal yet also just as easily offended or paralyzed into silence by fear of judgment. We're adaptable to living miles on the surface but an inch deep, more interested in achieving speed than examining the direction we're going.
Don't get me wrong, I love the Internet and how it's opened for everyone countless opportunities—to share, do business, and to reach out via newsletter. (lol) It's just that in this noisy world, your attention is the most expensive thing you can pay. No matter the chaos outside, remember that your thoughts are the one thing you truly have control over. You can be locked in at home but totally free and at peace in your mind, just as you could roam free but be addicted to distractions and locked into your own obsessive thoughts.
Where you place your attention determines where you focus your thoughts, how you spend your energy, and inevitably, how you spend your days. Still have no clue what your "why" is? My challenge for you this week is to pay attention to what you pay attention to. When pin down where your attention goes, you'll also discover what you've been choosing to care about.
Take note, it will require courage on your part. Because what if where you're directing most of your attention doesn't match with what you believe to be important? First, don't judge yourself. We all need our escapism (Tiktok and Netflix anyone?) but the key is being able to catch the difference between taking a break versus mind-numbing. Instead, consider it your starting point for meaningful change.
Speaking for those of us who are waiting out the worst at home, this season of disruption has given us a wild opportunity, IF you can open your mind to this idea. Hear me out: we've been allowed the privilege of unstructured time, free of the constraints of daily commute, showing up to our offices, and social engagements. We've been given the chance to rediscover how we would like our days to look like.
By all means stay updated, spread viable information, be angry with how things are being handled, do what you can to support our frontliners, and get your job done (from home hopefully). But I also hope you spend time to lean into the good stuff that's left. Allow yourself to play a little and do things that actively bring you joy, regardless of how long it's been. Create, don't just consume.
As for me, I've taking it one day at a time. I paint, write, run and practice being present for these rare-but-ordinary days with my family. While I do feel anxiety over the uncertainty of how long these arrangements will last, I've found that pouring my attention into creating to cope has helped me personally weather this strange time.
Finally, I highly recommend keeping a journal: what gets on the page shows you where you've been mentally, and how to move forward. More on this practice next week!
With gentleness and hope,
B
PS. Feel free to share the artwork below & tag @polipaints!
PPS. Here's where I drop my recos for the week!
READ: Keep Going by Austin Kleon - I love this handy lil book for quick bites of inspiration. I've attached his list below as bonus material.
WATCH: Netflix's Inside Bill's Brain: Decoding Bill Gates - A 3-episode docuseries about a mind wonderfully directed towards meaningful change and solving the world's most complex problems.
WRITE: Penzu App and Online Journal - A free app/website for you to kickstart your journaling habit! I use this when on-the-go and my notebook is out of reach.
LISTEN: pay attention - a Spotify playlist for remembering the good stuff by yours truly!
P.P.S. Bonus Material from Austin Kleon !
Thank you for your time. Whether you loved, hated, or felt nothing towards this issue of #StudioNotes, I want your feedback! Reach out via email or IG DMs. Stay healthy and with any luck I'll see you again next Friday! xx
Read my next letter, Vol. 3 - Own Your Story.
Read my previous letter, Vol. 1 - Start With Why.
The artist, elsewhere:
@BEAPOLICARPIO | @POLIPAINTS | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Tiktok | Art Tiktok