Bypass the thinking Brain
I shaved my legs for...THIS?!? Newsletter #79
Hello my dearest Prudes,
I am thinking of rebranding, although I always wanted to make it to 100 editions of ISMLFT before I thought about a pivot. So we have 21 more editions to go before we hit that deadline/milestone. I am currently in the air as to whether this becomes more of a regular slice of life/diary or perhaps a more sporadic mailing list. My tarot card reader told me not to rush into any big decisions so only time will tell (evidence provided below).
I do have a natural tendency to dismiss any sort of accomplishment so it’s hard to know how to feel about having written so many newsletters other than a weird mix of maybe I should be pleased, at least you committed to something and why didn’t you work harder and churn out more newsletters.
New readers and you trust me now is a great time to subscribe to this fortnightly-ish free newsletter:
I do not have access to me 100% of the time.
More often than not I feel like I am in the hallway of my brain and all the action is occurring behind closed doors on either side of me. These are not doors I am trying to enter, my hand is never reaching for the knob. They could be completely unlocked and accessible, begging for me to walk through them, but instead, I am standing in the hall quite happily thinking of nothing.
Sometimes it’s nice to have an empty brain. It makes it much easier to watch things and read things and not spend too much time thinking critically about them. As said so well in The Big Chill and endlessly repeated around my childhood home - “sometimes you just have to let art flow over you”. I just finished a book where I was annoyed by the main character and all of the supporting characters the entire time. It would have been a lot easier to just enjoy the book if I was still in the hallway and not thinking about how easily all of the miscommunication and missteps could have been avoided.
The hallway can be annoying though, it’s painful to be stuck out there when doing the nightly crossword with my partner and swearing you 100% know the answer to the clue but just can’t say it right now because it isn’t coming to the front of your brain. That feels like the hallway has moved from a peaceful place to a torment-fueled corridor out of The Shining. This might seem like a bit of a leap for not being able to get the answer on a crossword but we are both taking them very seriously.
I’d like to think that having access to your full self all of the time is difficult for anyone. Maybe it’s fine for people with big personalities, but surely they get as sick of themselves as everyone else does. Why not keep a few things secret from yourself? What greater treat could there be than having you be surprising even to you? Try something you don’t think you’ll like and maybe it won’t be so bad…or it could be the worst thing you’ve ever experienced but then you can put that behind a closed door and go back to the hallway.
Links
Of course, the links provide a helpful insight into how I have been spending my time and the things that I have been feeding my mind. This time we have:
I’m still on my House and Garden kick and loving this place in Bath. The wallpaper in the ‘attic suite’ just about did me in. Would I ever have the guts to do that myself?
A great newsletter from Alison Roman wrestling with the para-social relationship and the need to live a life online to create (I believe in partnership with better health - but does selling out for your vulnerable post make it any less true?.) P.S. I have not made the carrot cake and cannot imagine enjoying it more cold.
I enjoyed this piece on Eclipse Tourism and the line between experiencing something rare (perhaps world-changing), choosing what to believe about it and capitalising on the merchandising opportunity.
Four questions to ask yourself when designing something (I guess I think of everything as designing something?)
This piece on writing a Magna Carta for Rome and the pressure placed on local governments to solve global problems spoke to my interests of both writing and better democracy (the second I am kind of shocked is there, but work will change you I guess). This one is particularly worth reading so you too can respond to emails with the incredible “I have no answers as it is not within my competence.”
Okay that’s it for this week!
I’ll be back as soon as I can, although the next month is looking very busy as I head off on Roadshow (look out for me if you live in Northern/Central NSW or Tassie). Trust me I will be vomiting out thoughts into my MacBook and sending them to you at every chance I get.
Love you! See you soon my Prudes xx
Thanks Prue! Loved your show and NOW I want to eat carrot cake. What are some of your favourite bakeries in Melb?