Happy Friday.
The world feels heavy right now. I know that you will feel that, just as I feel that. It can make you question showing up. It can make you doubt how you show up. Fearful of saying the wrong thing. Fearful of offending.
But you cannot control what other people think about you. All you can do trust that your intentions are good and keep going in a way that feels right to you.
In the words of Elbert Hubbard:
There is only one way to avoid criticism: say nothing, do nothing, BE nothing.
The crack of dawn on Tuesday morning, staring sleepily at my notebook, waiting for the caffeine hit from that first delicious cup of coffee to hit my system, and jump start my brain, I was struck by the following question— What is the history of book dust jackets?
Quite why that thought randomly popped into my head I have no idea. But I would say that completely random ponderings are part and parcel of an adhd brain. Annoyed not to be able to immediately google it, and go down a dust jacket rabbit hole (I have a strict no phone until after morning pages rule), I made a note to look it up later.
Now, I’ll save you the long history of dust jackets— the rabbit hole is yours to explore if it calls to you. But, long story short; dust jackets started out as merely a protective covering for the loose printed pages of a manuscript. Designed to be disposed of once the pages had been bound by the Book Binders.
Maybe it’s just me, but I find reading books with dust jackets super annoying. They slip out of place, they get ripped. Yet I can’t bring myself to remove them and throw them away. The book is no less without it, and in fact I would get more enjoyment out of the book without it.
I’ve been thinking a lot about ‘less’ lately. About how ‘less is more’ may be a cliche but is undeniably true in many situations. It’s how in design, a more minimal approach often gives a stronger end result. It’s the increasing appeal of re-working my website to be a one page site. It’s how getting your news from a few reputable sources rather than thousands of people on the internet feels more reassuring.
When you battle feelings of overwhelm daily, ‘less’ can be a balm. Less information to process, less belongs to maintain. Less makes life easier.
And yet we find ourselves holding onto many things that were never designed to be kept, both in our brains and in our homes. All the while distracting ourselves from the things that we really want to be doing. I don’t have any answers here or advice here. Just musings.
But, on the subject of ‘less is more’ I just finished reading ‘It’s hard to make a difference when you can’t find your keys’ by Marylin Paul (It’s out of print, but you can pick up used copies on Amazon). I know that I’ve mentioned this book in a past letter but wanted to mention it again because it is so good. Much more than a book on organising, a real guide on how to live life with less overwhelm. A book that inspires you to take action.
Speaking of which, I may just go and remove some dust jackets.
Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.
Becca x