5x1: attention, nature, and fuck giving

Hey there. Welcome to 5x1 – 5 quick things to get you feeling yourself and the present moment. (Or just playing more board games. Love a good board game night.)

1. A quote about aiming your attention

Perhaps it’s age that grants the wisdom to know where my attention belongs and the discipline to be able to direct it. The great power of a middle-aged woman is that she knows where to give her fucks. ​

– Mandy Brown, Coming home

2. A question: where are you sending your fucks?

As Mandy Brown argues, “you are born with so many fucks to give”. Where are you sending yours?

I don’t quite have the fuck-aiming power of a middle-age woman (yet) but I’m working on it. Lately, I’ve been trying to direct my fucks towards friends and fam. I talk a bit about how below.

3. A poem about finding yourself in nature

This beautiful poem from Mary Oliver – called Wild Geese – puts our lives into perspective. You don’t need to slog through misery to find contentment: it’s right there, waiting for you, in a flock of wild geese. (But maybe not Canadian geese. Don’t mess with them.)

Here’s an except:

You do not have to be good.
​You do not have to walk on your knees
​for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
​You only have to let the soft animal of your body
​love what it loves.

Go read the whole thing.

Thanks to my lovely partner for sharing this poem with me.

4. A book to check out: Tokyo Style by Kyoichi Tsuzuki

Tokyo Style is about the beauty of clutter and it delivers. First published in 1993, it’s filled with photos of average Tokyo homes – all packed to the brim with stuff.

It pushes back against the stereotypical view of Japanese minimalism (which, to be fair, I’ve been heavily influenced by) to present, as Tsuzuki puts it, “the real Tokyo style, the places we honest-and-truly do spend our days.”

(And, as someone who will move from a three-bedroom house to a two-bedroom apartment soon, it’s all pretty inspirational.)

5. A game to play: Spots

I’m on a board game kick. I give so many fucks about them right now. And Spots is a cracker.

I’ve been trying to find fun, small ways to spend time with the people I care about. And board games are a winner there. Clever challenges, tactical bits and bobs, a bit of competitiveness. What more do you need?

Spots is simple. You have cards with dogs on them. The dogs have spots. You roll dice to match the spots. Fill the cards and you win.

It’s quick, easy to understand and filled with risk taking that’ll make you laugh and cry. Plus everything looks incredible.

See ya next week with 5 more terrific things.

🌊

cz xxo