Thoughts on writing #enjoybenches notes

I’ve started a new art series where I leave notes on benches:

If I come across a bench that I have never sat in, I will stop and sit in that bench for at least sixty seconds. #enjoybenches

In a previous blog post, I explore the materials for this series. Now I’d like to think about the text.

At first, I was considering writing the same thing on all the notes. But then I realized there are lots of cool things to say about benches. Maybe this little note will have different text every now and then.

As this series evolves, I plan on posting more pics on social media. I wouldn’t want people to get burned out on seeing the same phrase over and over again.

Ideas for text

Cool quotes
There’s got to be cool quotes about benches, right? Maybe I’ll use some of those.

Snappy
Reword it so it’s like “Start a lifetime habit of sitting on benches you encounter.”
Ok, that’s not really snappy. Here’s a few more:

• When you come across a bench that you never sat in, sit on the bench for 60 seconds.
• If you never sat on a bench…
• If you never sat on a particular bench…
• The bench you never sat on
• A bench upon which you have never rested
• When you come across a bench you never sat in, sit on the bench for 60 seconds.
• Sit on a bench for 60 seconds
• Sit on a new bench for 60 seconds
• A bench you never sat on crosses your path, sit on the bench for 60 seconds.
• When a bench you never sat on crosses your path, sit on the bench for 60 seconds.
• When a bench crosses your path
• When you come across a bench that you never sat in, give 60 seconds to sit on the bench.

Benefits
I could pull text from my blog post “Pause and sit on a bench“. I outline five reasons.

1. You’ll enjoy the time on the bench
2. Feel connected to the area
3. Transform that bench from a symbol of no time to a symbol of enjoyment
4. Bending time
5. Changes your perception

First person, third person?
I wasn’t sure if this note should be written in the first person. I don’t want it to be “I this, I that.” So maybe I might write some notes where the “I” gets swapped out with “you”, something like, “When you come across a bench that you never sat on, give 60 seconds to sit on the bench.”

Challenge
The sixty-second challenge: can you sit and relax for 60 seconds?
The one-minute challenge: can you sit on this bench and relax for 60 seconds?

These notes could also be much more designed and artistic.

Personify the bench
The bench could be talking. “Sit here, check out this view!” I could go into the specifics of the view. It could be wide-ranging about the landscape in general. Or it could be really focused on one very small aspect, like, “check out the crack in the sidewalk right there. It looks like someone dropped a bag of bowling balls and strawberry cupcakes.”