The magical power of attention
In a world where speed is king and noise his restless queen, the principle of quiet attention seems hopelessly outdated. Thanks to our constant thirst for the next breaking news drama, TikTok sensation or Netflix thriller, we have unlearned how to just be and simply pay attention to the world around us.
Uncomfortable
While we binge on the compelling drama that television serves us, we don’t notice the daily predicament that occurs behind the front door of our lonely neighbour. While we scroll through our Instagram feed, we don’t pick up on our co-worker’s need for a friendly chat. While we chuckle about funny Youtube videos, we fail to see the comical behaviour of our own dog. With the magic of our smart phone at our immediate service, we miss out on the life around us, and have become increasingly uncomfortable with silence and idleness. We don’t know what to do with ourselves: since we’re always in talk-text-scroll-mode it’s hard to just be.
Uber-connected
Our modern-day addiction to virtual distraction comes with a price, though. It disconnects us from the world around us. It even disconnects us from ourselves. While we think we’re being incredibly cool with our busy and uber-connected lives, deep down we’re nothing than intelligent animals that need quiet time to remain sane. Not only do we need quiet time in which we just are (rather than do) to process the daily bombardment of information. We also need quiet time to be able to look around us, and connect with life in all its colourful magnificence.
New eyes
With quiet time we discover a whole new dimension to life: the power of attention. While we might think we need to travel to faraway countries to see beautiful things, it’s genuine attention that helps us discover the beauty of a bird bathing in a puddle, the satisfaction of having our neighbour over for a coffee, and the fun of joining the dog in some silly play. With attention we can see old and familiar things with new eyes, which makes our environment as exciting as any exotic country.
Practise attention today
When you train yourself to pay attention to the wonder of life around and inside you, you’ll rediscover the simple joy of connection.
So if today you have some idle time, instead of automatically grabbing your phone, just sit and look around. Look at other people: imagine that once they were young children and dreamed of growing up. Look at the trees: realise that they were planted in a different time, and how they have seen their environment change. Look at the ants on the ground: how busy they are and how disciplined they work on their assigned tasks. Appreciate all this liveliness around you.
Now turn your attention inwards. How does your body feel? How are your feet, your legs, your belly, your chest? Feel your hands in your lap, feel the tips of your fingers, try to even feel your nails. Feel your chest, take a few deep breaths, soften your shoulders and let go of tension. Now appreciate all the liveliness inside of you.