Attentional Farmers Markets

In his book, The Siren’s Call, Chris Hayes proposes an idea he calls Attentional Farmer’s Markets. He suggests this as a means by which we may reclaim our diminishing attention in a world that attempts to constantly steal it.

On Sunday mornings, I sketch with a group called Penciljam. We are a community that meets to draw on location, and have been doing this every week for a decade and a half. These drawing sessions are quiet, almost meditative affairs. People are engrossed in their sketchbooks for an hour or two, drawing, while the noise of the world around them drops to a whisper. There are other communities like this. I participated in writing sessions with a group called Write Club, which operates around a similar discipline. People write stories around shared prompts in silence.

There is an idea in sociology called the Third Place, which is a place other than one’s home or workplace-these communities are like that. I feel like these are great examples of Hayes’ Attentional farmer’s markets. Working together in groups is a way to disconnect from the self-imposed bubbles our phones place us in. Creating things together, discussing our craft, trying to understand another person’s approach, is attention well spent.

Notes

I haven’t read Chris Hayes’ book yet. I came across the term Attentional Farmer’s Markets in this article