What do an eco-thriller, a book about social media, and a book by Shakespeare all have in common? The idea that our attention and connection to the people around us matter in our lives.
At least I hope they do, I haven’t read them all yet. 🤣
March is the month when I really start focusing on the life in my backyard.
When I moved to Kentucky after living my entire adult life in Arizona, I honestly did not know how to take care of the land that I had. Cutting the grass once a week in the spring? Who knew! Not me.
I could identify so many trees, bushes, birds, bugs, and occasionally snakes in AZ. Welcome to KY where I didn’t know an oak from a poplar. Also, couldn’t identify poison ivy and learned that one the hard way!
All of this made me think about how fragile our connection to the world and each other really is.
In Saltcrop, we are faced with a future where the water levels have risen, swallowing the coasts. Two sisters set off on an epic journey to find their third sister, who was in search of a cure for all of the failing crops in the world. As you might imagine, the large corporations have a pretty high interest in this cure.
Speaking of attention, endangered resources, and corporations that profit off of us… That brings us to The Sirens’ Call: How Attention Became the World’s Most Endangered Resource by Chris Hayes.
It’s not just that we are giving corporations our data. It’s not just that we log several unpaid hours of work a day, watching their ads, creating content, and spending time in their echochambers. It’s that this has substantially cut down our attention spans.
This matters. We can’t argue constructively in an echochamber. But we also can’t argue productively if we have lost the ability to discern between information and misinformation. Or if we are so inundated with a constant stream of baseless opinions spouted as fact that we can’t discern truth from hot take. Literacy is not being able to read words on a page. It is being able to discern truth, to decide our opinion based on facts and opposing viewpoints. To discern what is meant between the lines. *takes a deep breath* Sorry, I’ll get off my soap box, but this really does matter, friends.
When we spend too much time online, it really does hurt our relationships and even our ability to create new ones. What we give our attention to, that which we nurture, will grow. In our hearts and in our minds.
Chris Hayes talks about how the constant stream of digital information is “neurological and social impulses, degrading our ability to think deeply and connect meaningfully, and he calls for a new framework to reclaim our attention from these powerful empires.” He also talks about how to help people regain control over their lives, politics, and future.
This is not a new problem, but it is one that has become greatly intensified with the social media age. In fact, King Lear faces a situation where two of his daughters get his favor because they give him empty flattery. Meanwhile, the daughter who truly loves him is left out of his future plans.
So, as it turns out, these books all really do work together to create a deep and wide exploration of attention and connection. To nature, to our loved ones, and to ourselves.
Will you join me in reading any this month? As usual, there is space to discuss them all in my Fable group Wildly Wandering Pages!
I’m halfway through the month and read two of the three, with only King Lear remaining, but all three rooms are open and I’d love to hear your thoughts. I’ve shared my thoughts on Saltcrop and on The Sirens’ Call on Instagram
This month, I’m paying more attention to what really matters, nature, relationships, healthy movement, and how I spend my time online. What are you noticing?
Living Wildly Well 