The World Starts Over in October
Focus Pocus and the Power of Our Attention
These have been slow days as I settle back into my house. Into my own skin. Into my breath.
I can’t control whether I have medical access next year. Or if the insurance market collapses under the weight of politics.
(I firmly believe health care is a human right, not a luxury. And I will not shut up about that. Ever.)
Over the last months, I have had to sit with the hard reality that my life could be dramatically cut short if I can no longer access medical care due to affordability. I can’t control that either.
But you know what I can control. Me. My attention. What I focus on.
Taking the next right step. It’s all any of us can do right now, if we are honest.
When We Begin Again
October is my favorite month, and it isn’t just because it’s my birthday.
It’s the month when the trees teach us lessons with their leaves on the bravery and the beauty of letting go.
It’s the month of mushrooms, reminding us we are all interconnected.
It’s the month that I begin planning and dreaming about the next year, which has been… interesting.
Ordinary times give us the illusion of control. These are not ordinary times.
In the face of all the uncertainty and the unknown, here’s what I’m leaning into.
Living fully with the time I have every day.
I will put my hands into dirt, fill my days with finding unexpected beauty, read all the books, spill my heart on a page, bake apple crumbles, grow food in my yard, love my neighbor, be extra kind, and create the world I long for. In my corner of it, at least.
Focus Pocus & the Fight for Your Attention
Make no mistake friend, there is a fight going on for your attention.
Every ding on your phone. Every like on your post. The never-ending scroll.
If you feel scattered, drained, and overwhelmed. That’s by design.
Scattered, fatigued people are easier to market to and way easier to manipulate with fear.
I read more news than I’d like to. Because of the size of my audience and the unprecedented everything going on, I feel a responsibility to stay informed.
That said, no platform, person, or algorithm will own my attention.
I will be writing more about this in the coming weeks because it is central to making wonder a habit. I’ve been deep in research mode for a book on wonder. And some of what I am finding is jaw-dropping.
The world is really loud right now. Louder than I ever remember it being.
I want to offer you gentle paths home to your heart and an invitation to find wonder in the places you least expect it.
To create more than you consume. Learn simple ways to take back your attention. Explore your creativity.
More Wonder, Please
Worry weaponizes our imaginations against us. Wonder gives us our imaginations back and calms our frazzled nerves.
That’s why our prompts for Wondertober 2025 are rooted in fairy tales and folklore. I hope they are invitations to step inside of stories from your childhood and imagine whimsical worlds that bring you joy.
It all kicks off tomorrow (Oct 10). I’ll be sharing here and on Instagram.
From Oct. 10-31, we will be making art, doodling, sketchbooking, writing, creating our way through a list of daily prompts.
Our 21 One-Word Wonder Prompts this year are fairytale and folklore themed. The whimsy starts October 10, and thus the numbers below correspond with the date.
How to Join In
Create something inspired by the daily prompt.
Share it to Instagram using the tag #wondertober2025.
Check that tag on Instagram to see what others are creating and share encouragement.
Want to share and connect here on Substack?
If you’d like to share your work here on The Wonder Habit®, join Prompt and Ponder for the month and get full access to our creative community.
It’s my birthday month, so you know there’s going to be an arty party going on over here.
We will have a dedicated Wondertober 2025 chat thread where you can share your work from this challenge. I’ll be hanging out there to cheer you on.
You’ll also get access to our new monthly live Zoom Prompt & Play call, October 16, where we’ll be creating the daily prompt together and hanging out.
This means you’ll also have full access to our entire archives and will get our weekly Prompt & Ponder email as well.
If you sign up by October 17 using the button, you can snag 35% off your subscription for a whole year.
Now for some tips…
In case you are new to the world of art challenges, here are some tips to make this a wonder-filled experience.
It’s supposed to be fun. Not stress you out. You cannot get this wrong. You can’t mess it up.
Skip days. Pick one prompt a week. This is about you enjoying your creativity, not adding one more to-do to your list.
Make the challenge fit YOUR life and capacity. Paint tiny. Keep it simpler than you think you need to.
Pick your favorite supplies and put them in a caddy. Or set up in a corner. The more you set up, the easier it is to be consistent.
Use the hashtag in your caption if you post your work on IG. Click on the hashtag on Instagram to see other people’s work. To make it easy, here’s a button to click over to see the hashtag on Instagram.
I literally cannot wait to see what you create.
Remember, this is a safe place to be who you are. I am so glad you are here.
You are loved,
It really is hard. I’m so sorry, Michele. (When is your bday? Mine is also October!)