Escaping Reality

Today’s world is made up of corrupt politicians, evil corporations, and mindless people wandering about doing what they are told, not doing based on their own opinion. It would seem, especially as the media tells us, that the world has never been worse. But I disagree with this mindset that Odell has. She tells about how today’s entire world is motivated by the attention economy. How that economy takes away our freedom and ability to make choices rather, it encourages impulse decisions and a desire to HAVE everything. Odell tells her readers that we cannot stand for this attention economy and we need to revolt upon it. But to that I say why is it that awful?

Personally I think there is a happy medium between the two beliefs. I think that we do work too hard and that leads to unhappy lives, that some people lead unhappy lives because of the attention economy. But in our society it’s the thing that motivates us to get out of bed in the morning and try our best. The possibility of success. The possibility of having more than your neighbor. The possibility of your children growing up never needing to worry about college. This possibility is what motivates billions of people everyday. And without that same possibility many seem to become unmotivated. Over the course of chapter two Odell gives many examples of the communes of the 60s, where people got a glimmer of what could be but never was. The communes always failed because people wanted different things. Stephen Diamond ran his New Age Farm and at one point “fantasizes about burning down the barn” because the people that joined his commune over time drove him mad. He said the reason was a lack of civic duty, and the members wanting to just “escape” reality. But I argue that all these communes can be, is an escape from reality. We have since moved on from hunting and gathering for survival to more or less having fun with life. We can never only work for each other, simply because at this point in society it is not the most effective way of progressing. It is hard to find motivation for progress if there is no special reward for it. I see both sides to this as well. This same progress leads to the majority feeling like a cog in the system, just another dispensable life that capitalism takes for granted. While this disposable mindset includes many people it is only because they feel that way on choice. Just as similar to that feeling is one of possibility. Many ask what can they make of their lives, how they can become the best version of themselves as opposed to feeling useless. It is the nature of our current system to inspire possibility, but with an endless possibility it feels overwhelming and many people settle into their cogs. I find that at the end of the day, the possibility of something is better than a set course for life.

I now tie back to my ending claim in my introduction. Is the attention economy really so awful? I think not. Today it would seem that the world is completely falling to pieces and by the time i’m done writing this essay we will all be blown to bits. But the true nature of the world is not that. Today I can write this essay on a computer, designed by people who took advantage of that possibility that is offered to each of us. And I do understand that my writing could easily be written off as pure privilege regarding the opportunity of success, regardless I bring up the question. Would you rather have the choice of both success and failure or never have the choice at all?

A look into “How To Do Nothing

Reading through chapter 1 of How To Do Nothing has opened my eyes to who Jenny Odell is as a writer. I feel as though the book gives off a more comfortable approach rather than following a specific structure of writing. With this, it is relatable and an enjoyable read. 

With creating this book, it could be interpreted that Odell wanted to portray that doing nothing is never actually doing nothing and great success can be achieved. By using a plethora of real life scenarios she has experienced, Odell motivates the reader to keep time for themselves to relax not only their body, but their mind. With her ongoing example of the Rose Garden, she speaks about how she had no intentions when going there, but only planned to let her mind explore. I personally believe there could be underlying intentions of giving people who do not feel motivated hope to have success in the future without having to do strenuous amounts of “work”. Without saying it, Odell emphasizes that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. This idea became especially clear to me when she shared about paying to sit and observe the sunset because there is so much opportunity for different experiences and no two people will see the piece of art the same. Odell’s writing style is unique in the aspect that she motivates through sharing self experience and different ways of finding inspiration and success. 

Jenny Odell uses many different forms of texts and scenarios throughout her writing in order to keep the reader interested and as a way of showing it truly is possible rather than just saying someone can achieve it. In the beginning of chapter one she used her internship in San Francisco as an example of a learning experience for her and a pivotal moment in her career. She notes that this job was attractive to her because it involved using things that already existed rather than creating something new. Odell states “Part of the reason I work this way is because I find existing things infinitely more interesting than anything I could possibly make” (5). This example in particular stood out to me because it shows that a person does not have to invent something to be a creator. It is inspiring to read about how she reworked old pieces to make new art. As previously mentioned, the Rose Garden is the main source of inspiration Odell focuses on throughout the writing. Growing up within 5 minutes distance of it, she always found herself going there to relax and think. The Rose Garden is much more than just a park with flowers, as it is a place of imagination and creativity. It is a location that brought to life Jenny Odell’s ideas, and assisted her to collect her thoughts to inspire others. Another critical example used in the book is the idea of “Deep Listening”. Sharing that art is in more forms than visual opens eyes to many and introduces a different opportunity for creation.  From the first section of the piece of writing, I feel as though the author is attracted to inspiration that is open to opportunity and gives a chance of exploration. She seems to be a writer that looks to nature as a way of freeing your mind and being open to ideas. Jenny Odell does an excellent job of connecting her experiences to messages she intends to portray to the reader throughout How To Do Nothing. After sharing what she has gone through, she continues to explain how it helped her writing process and in what ways others can find success through similar inspiration strategies. However, the author does so without saying it out in the open. Her way of writing is comforting and easy to read rather than stated facts on how to be successful. Oftentimes books without a friendly approach can be unsuccessful because they are poor motivators and less relatable which causes readers to lose interest. A technique that I admire of Odell’s is her ability to motivate readers to find inspiration in the little things without just saying it. By sharing her past and what she has been through, it makes the reader want to have little successes for themselves and pushes them in a way that is not common. Overall, Odell is an inspiring creator who finds light in dark situations and turns nothing into art.