There have been many recurring threads and themes to most of the conversations I have had lately. All of us trying to find our “new normal”, are wondering about what to keep in our lives and what to let go of. How do I want to live with however much life I have left? What do I need to make my life purposeful and meaningful? In light of all the precariousness and fragility that I feel more keenly than ever in light of the pandemic, where do I want to put my time and energy?
The Fall has felt as though everything that paused during the pandemic has returned. All the options and choices and demands are back. We have changed, however. I hear so many people sifting and asking questions. It seems many have become choosier. Some are saying yes to fewer obligations and trying to maintain a pace and rhythm to life that allows for connection and reflection.
One of the many interesting interviews I listened to this summer was with Johann Hari author of Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention and How to Think Deeply Again. When I began to listen to the interview, I thought it would mostly tell me what I already knew—social media and modern technology has eroded our ability to pay attention. That was part of what Mr. Hari had to say (and the data he shared that backs up that truth is mind boggling), but there was something else he said that has stayed with me. It isn’t just that we have a hard time staying focused on one task or thought at a time; it is that the type of attention we are asked to devote and the types we are not are also undermining us. Mr. Hari spoke in compelling terms about the fact that we are asked either to focus in a way that is a bit like what we would do to take an exam, or to divide our attention in 6 different ways (or more) at once. Singular focus on a specific task, or scattered and almost uselessly divided attention to the degree where we can’t do anything well. The exam type focus is useful, but can only be maintained in short bursts for specific tasks. The divided in many directions focus leads us to do none of what we are trying to accomplish very well. Everything (and everyone) is getting short shrift and the leftovers of our attention.
One of the things we need, he argued, is more time for mind-wandering. We need time to sit and let our mind go where it will. Time to ponder and reflect on our lives. Time we don’t have in our rapid-paced, frantically busy world. The need to be productive and generate a liveable income (and all the information vying for our attention) make this impossible. What if it wasn’t?
I think we need a new definition of productive. Instead of trying for results and “measurables”, what if we defined productivity by what we learned or how we treated others or how well we know ourselves? What if our work included time to connect with others and get lost in thought? In order to be creative and to try to find solutions to the significant issues facing our world—climate collapse, racial reckoning, economic inequality—we need to be able to pay attention to one another and the depths of our own being. May we cultivate that deep form of attention for the good of us all.
Rev. Shana Lynngood is co-minister of First Unitarian Church of Victoria. She has lived and served in Victoria since 2010
You can read more articles on our interfaith blog, Spiritually Speaking, HERE: /blogs/spiritually-speaking
* This article was published in the print edition of the sa国际传媒 on Saturday, September 15th 2022
