Some people call it mindfulness, I call it active meditation: sensing everything around me while existing in this exact and only moment I have. Sometimes hours can pass by and when I finally realize the passage of time, I also realize that I am relaxed to the core and am at peace. I often try to experience it when I am doing work that does not require my full attention, so my mind is free to see what I don’t usually see, and problems seem to solve themselves. Once I even realized I was happy. How often do we actually realize that we are happy?
Have you ever noticed from a distance the windows on houses in the Foothills when the sun is low in the west and the windows all turn gold? Like the benediction, do they ever know they live in houses with golden windows?
“malicious bedazzlement” is my new life purpose. 😍 This is stunning! Yesterday was such a train wreck, I couldn’t get up today. Now your brilliant story has completely rewired my mind. I feel sent out into the world refreshed and eager to see with new eyes. Thank you.
What a great closing image! Henry James gives us the impossible standard: to be a person upon whom nothing is lost. Sitting in silence with Quakers helps me do that.
The Attention Chronicles are going to be wonderful, well done Tara! I love that they are going to lead us home.
Pixelating away our free will is an interesting, tangible concept that would not have been part of our lives a few short years ago. On his famous podcast Andrew Huberman, from Stanford, teaches a vision exercise that was brought to mind with your acorn story. We sharpen our focus by intentionally altering our vision, gradually from close up to far away (he provides the protocol based on neuro research) and it shifts our neurobiology and ability to focus. It was fascinating to learn and this article is a reminder for me to revisit that info.
I'm excited for The Attention Chronicles, Tara! It sounds wonderful! Somewhere on Substack, not too long ago, I was in a conversation about attention as currency. I think we do have to limit infinity in some capacity in order to have a full experience, and choosing (being mindful) of where we pay our attention is an act of empowerment. I also like to think about the ways the world pays attention to us. I couldn't help but think that the cloud benediction over the house was meant for you. The world paid you attention by putting that in your awareness. ♥️
Thank you, Jenna! Yes and yes, though attention as currency reminds me of education as “investment.” What did you think when you heard it? I think it’s true in our world, and also insufficient, yes? We can give away the currency of attention for less than it’s worth on the market, and still find the *spirit* of attention remains, unspent though half-suffocated and in need of a shower, maybe.
You will appreciate that if I stepped a little to the left or the right, the cloud had a different position relative to that house, naturally. Clever you, seeing right away that I downplayed my own relation to the scene. :-)
When I first considered the idea of attention as currency, I thought it made sense. I put my attention on what I value in any given moment. I suppose sometimes what I value is not in alignment with my integrity (and then the need for a shower comes up again 😁). It does seem that the other half of the transaction, the receiving of attention (by other humans), is often much more sticky to navigate. But it has made my morning walks infinitely more interesting when I notice that the trees, rocks and clouds are paying attention to me.
I love this in every way: your turns of phrase, the story, the images--every attention to detail. And the wonder about selective tuning (my mind went in many directions, mostly philosophical and the work of Maurice Merleau-Ponty on the chiasm that happens between one hand touching another, that we can feel only one of them touching or being touched but not both at the same time; or that if we have a headache and stub the toe, we do not perceive pain in both places at once). The line that grabbed me was this one that Dee highlights: "How could you receive this benediction and not know it?" Delicious.
"Home is the aspiration, a place where we can experience rest and renewal without malicious bedazzlement." Love home as the goal as opposed to "malicious bedazzlement . . . succumbing to the nefarious enchantment of flashing pixels." And the notion of paying attention to our place in the world. This is N. Scott Momaday:
Something of our relationship to the
earth is
determined by the particular place we
stand at
a given time. If you stand still long enough
to
observe carefully the things around you,
you will
find beauty, and you will know wonder. If
you see a
leaf carried along on the flow of a river,
you might
ponder its journey. Where did it begin,
and where
will it end? What will be the story of its
passage?
You will discover a thousand ways in
which the leaf
is connected to the water, the banks, the
near and
farther distances, the sky and the sun,
Your mind, your spirit will be nourished and grow.
However I got this, I honestly don't know how, but I'm so grateful! Like Thanksgiving grateful, which I realize sounds incredibly hyperbolic, but it's not. Not in my tiny world. The opportunity to read & really learn from people who write as their passion/living (hopefully it's the same) is a lovely gift I do not take for granted. Thank You! 💚
Dear GL, Wonderful to have you here! You've come to a place where other people's hyperbole is part of everyday speech. :-) Thanksgiving gratitude is right at home. Following a lovely holiday yesterday, here are your words waiting to remind me there is just as much to be grateful for today as yesterday. Peace, GL, and welcome.
Oh my gosh...all the time.
“I thought: The people in the house have no idea. How could you receive this benediction and not know it?”
I’m constantly trying to retune my situational awareness and antennae.
I loved this essay. I loved the way you choose your words, the visuals, the new structure, and the overall point. Keep it up you! ❤️
Awww! Thank you, Dee. Glad you enjoyed it. :-)
I read “Stolen Focus” by Johann Hari not too long ago. You’d love it.
The title says it all. Ordering.... Thank you for the tip!
Some people call it mindfulness, I call it active meditation: sensing everything around me while existing in this exact and only moment I have. Sometimes hours can pass by and when I finally realize the passage of time, I also realize that I am relaxed to the core and am at peace. I often try to experience it when I am doing work that does not require my full attention, so my mind is free to see what I don’t usually see, and problems seem to solve themselves. Once I even realized I was happy. How often do we actually realize that we are happy?
Wonderful practice!
Have you ever noticed from a distance the windows on houses in the Foothills when the sun is low in the west and the windows all turn gold? Like the benediction, do they ever know they live in houses with golden windows?
Yes, I’ve seen that! It’s marvelous! :-)
“malicious bedazzlement” is my new life purpose. 😍 This is stunning! Yesterday was such a train wreck, I couldn’t get up today. Now your brilliant story has completely rewired my mind. I feel sent out into the world refreshed and eager to see with new eyes. Thank you.
YES!! I’m so happy to help your train get back on the track. Bedazzle, m’girl, bedazzle!
What a great closing image! Henry James gives us the impossible standard: to be a person upon whom nothing is lost. Sitting in silence with Quakers helps me do that.
Yes, true! Silence always makes me itch. I have so far to go. 😅
The Attention Chronicles are going to be wonderful, well done Tara! I love that they are going to lead us home.
Pixelating away our free will is an interesting, tangible concept that would not have been part of our lives a few short years ago. On his famous podcast Andrew Huberman, from Stanford, teaches a vision exercise that was brought to mind with your acorn story. We sharpen our focus by intentionally altering our vision, gradually from close up to far away (he provides the protocol based on neuro research) and it shifts our neurobiology and ability to focus. It was fascinating to learn and this article is a reminder for me to revisit that info.
Thank you, Donna! Do you have a post planned with a Huberman link? I’d love to refer to it via you.
I'm excited for The Attention Chronicles, Tara! It sounds wonderful! Somewhere on Substack, not too long ago, I was in a conversation about attention as currency. I think we do have to limit infinity in some capacity in order to have a full experience, and choosing (being mindful) of where we pay our attention is an act of empowerment. I also like to think about the ways the world pays attention to us. I couldn't help but think that the cloud benediction over the house was meant for you. The world paid you attention by putting that in your awareness. ♥️
Thank you, Jenna! Yes and yes, though attention as currency reminds me of education as “investment.” What did you think when you heard it? I think it’s true in our world, and also insufficient, yes? We can give away the currency of attention for less than it’s worth on the market, and still find the *spirit* of attention remains, unspent though half-suffocated and in need of a shower, maybe.
You will appreciate that if I stepped a little to the left or the right, the cloud had a different position relative to that house, naturally. Clever you, seeing right away that I downplayed my own relation to the scene. :-)
When I first considered the idea of attention as currency, I thought it made sense. I put my attention on what I value in any given moment. I suppose sometimes what I value is not in alignment with my integrity (and then the need for a shower comes up again 😁). It does seem that the other half of the transaction, the receiving of attention (by other humans), is often much more sticky to navigate. But it has made my morning walks infinitely more interesting when I notice that the trees, rocks and clouds are paying attention to me.
I’ll pay attention to that, too. It’s a lovely idea of reciprocity.
Welcome, The Attention Chronicles!
I love this in every way: your turns of phrase, the story, the images--every attention to detail. And the wonder about selective tuning (my mind went in many directions, mostly philosophical and the work of Maurice Merleau-Ponty on the chiasm that happens between one hand touching another, that we can feel only one of them touching or being touched but not both at the same time; or that if we have a headache and stub the toe, we do not perceive pain in both places at once). The line that grabbed me was this one that Dee highlights: "How could you receive this benediction and not know it?" Delicious.
"Home is the aspiration, a place where we can experience rest and renewal without malicious bedazzlement." Love home as the goal as opposed to "malicious bedazzlement . . . succumbing to the nefarious enchantment of flashing pixels." And the notion of paying attention to our place in the world. This is N. Scott Momaday:
Something of our relationship to the
earth is
determined by the particular place we
stand at
a given time. If you stand still long enough
to
observe carefully the things around you,
you will
find beauty, and you will know wonder. If
you see a
leaf carried along on the flow of a river,
you might
ponder its journey. Where did it begin,
and where
will it end? What will be the story of its
passage?
You will discover a thousand ways in
which the leaf
is connected to the water, the banks, the
near and
farther distances, the sky and the sun,
Your mind, your spirit will be nourished and grow.
You will
become one with what you see. Consider
what is to
be seen.
Yes! That's a wonderful passage, and right to the point. I could just sit right down with that bit of Momaday and cancel the rest of the day. ;-)
However I got this, I honestly don't know how, but I'm so grateful! Like Thanksgiving grateful, which I realize sounds incredibly hyperbolic, but it's not. Not in my tiny world. The opportunity to read & really learn from people who write as their passion/living (hopefully it's the same) is a lovely gift I do not take for granted. Thank You! 💚
Dear GL, Wonderful to have you here! You've come to a place where other people's hyperbole is part of everyday speech. :-) Thanksgiving gratitude is right at home. Following a lovely holiday yesterday, here are your words waiting to remind me there is just as much to be grateful for today as yesterday. Peace, GL, and welcome.
I think this is a really beautiful idea. And I love Erik Hoel's essay.
Thank you. Like you with your Notebook pause, I feel the intentional focus is already doing some good.