Curiosity + Constraints...
When options are removed, attention sharpens.
I have been thinking a lot about limitations these days.
If only I had enough time, if only I had more impact… If only… If only….
If only my little patch of this world was more/bigger/ect… if only my garden included control over everything outside of its little fence, its limitations.
I was inspired and comforted this week by the PBS NewsHour “Settle In” podcast featuring sociologist Tressie McMillan Cottom, where she spoke about the relationship of burnout and agency.
She shared that burnout isn’t cured by bubble baths or vacations,
it requires a re-prioritization of values.
We’re inundated with passive information and very little agency.
The repair, she suggested, is action.
What if the fence around your garden
isn’t what’s limiting you,
but instead a guide to gocusing your attention?
This week, we explore constraints not as obstacles,
but as invitations to turn toward what is already here.
If I can have gratitude for the things within my perview, if I can serve the energy I do have with the grace and kindness, if I can show to myself I DO have agency over my small little patch of metaphorical land….
I turn gratitude into action,
Curiosity becomes agency.
