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Posts tagged ‘Attention’

Aug 2

Sweet Nectar of Tending

“My experience is what I agree to attend to.”― William James

“Everyone knows what attention is. It is taking possession of the mind, in clear and vivid form, of one out of what seems several simultaneously possible objects or trains of thought. Focalization, concentration of consciousness are of its essence. It implies a withdrawal from some things in order to deal effectively with others.”― William James

Attendance, full participation in this day.
Autopilot off.
To do list aside.
Rapt attention, reverence.
Expansion of presence
Exploration, wandering, sensing.
Sweet nectar of tending.

“Genius, in truth, means little more than the faculty of perceiving in an unhabitual way.”― William James, The Writings of William James

Jul 23

Quiet Mystery Calling

“An awe so quiet I don’t know when it began.
A gratitude had begun to sing in me.
Was there some moment dividing song from no song?
When does dewfall begin?
When does night fold its arms over our hearts to cherish them?
When is daybreak?”― Denise Levertov

“Days pass when I forget the mystery.
Problems insoluble and problems offering
their own ignored solutions
jostle for my attention, they crowd its antechamber
along with a host of diversions, my courtiers, wearing
their colored clothes; caps and bells.
And then
once more the quiet mystery
is present to me, the throng’s clamor
recedes: the mystery
that there is anything, anything at all,
let alone cosmos, joy, memory, everything,
rather than void: and that, 0 Lord,
Creator, Hallowed one, You still,
hour by hour sustain it.”
― Denise Levertov, Sands of the Well

Gratitude
Not built on platitude
Sewn on pillows
Signs hung on walls
Deeper, wider, dense
Resilient, transcendent, grace
Woven in ordinary, trust, delight
In the letting go, letting it be, letting it become
In the mess, detours, delays
Remember the mystery
Partake in wonder, awe, laughter
Daily practice, habit, commitment
Capture and cast light.

“Gratitude is the ability to experience life as a gift. It liberates us from the prison of self-preoccupation.”― John Ortberg, When the Game Is Over, It All Goes Back in the Box

Jul 13

Endless Proper Work

“The beauty and mystery of this world only emerges through affection, attention, interest and compassion . . . open your eyes wide and actually see this world by attending to its colors, details and irony.”― Orhan Pamuk, My Name Is Red

“Attention is vitality. It connects you with others. It makes you eager. Stay eager.”― Susan Sontag

It’s Monday.
Stay here.
Not skipping to Friday.
To tasks.
To busy.
To rushing.
To the next thing.
Bypassing this thing, this day.
Abide and invite.
Be present and participate.
Inquire and listen.
There’s more.
So much more.
Right here.
Right now.
Endless and proper work.

“To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work.”― Mary Oliver

Mar 18

2 Comments

Walking on Air

“Walk on air against your better judgement.”― Seamus Heaney

“Blessed are the noticers.
The ones who see the full story.
Blessed are the attenders.
The witness-bearers.
The story-holders.
The ones who tiptoe to the edge with us,
knowing that it will break their heart, too.
Choosing us anyway.
Blessed are those who are amazed
by a life lived in its fragility,
in its brevity, in its beauty.” – Kate Bowler

Daily noticing.
Tending.
Attention.
Abiding.
Rooting, weeding, uprooting.
Gratitude, grief, grace.
All, most, some.
In ordinary days.
In waiting, wading, weighting.
Timorous or bold, in between
More bold, walking on air.

“The way we are living,
timorous or bold,
will have been our life.”― Seamus Heaney

Dec 19

Altars of this Day

“…salvation is not something that happens only at the end of a person’s life. Salvation happens every time someone with a key uses it to open a door he could lock instead.”― Barbara Brown Taylor, Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith

“Earth is so thick with divine possibility that it is a wonder we can walk anywhere without cracking our shins on altars.”― Barbara Brown Taylor, An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith

May a sense of holy, sacred wonder
Trip you up, slow the hurry, bended knee
On the altars of this day, this season
Open door
Love, peace, joy
In the stable of your heart

“To the poet, to the philosopher, to the saint, all things are friendly and sacred, all events profitable, all days holy, all men divine.”― Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance and Other Essays

Nov 23

The Work of Attention, Presence

“Friluftsliv is about communing with nature and with yourself, and about unburdening oneself from anything but being present. It’s about disconnecting from the day-to-day in order to connect with something older, wilder, and larger.”― Kari Leibowitz, How to Winter: Harness Your Mindset to Thrive on Cold, Dark, or Difficult Days

The work of not working
Of slowing, rest, recreation
Witnessing and observing
Quieting
Noticing
Listening
At ease
Allowing
Abiding
Experiences and encounters
Of presence
Rather than productivity, performance, speed
Awe, wonder, enchantment
Communion, relating, tending
Deep in the journey of this day
Be here, now.

“How we attend to things shapes our existence. Our attention is a powerful tool, and it plays a tremendous role in our everyday experience. What we attend to becomes what we see, and what we see becomes what we engage with, and what we engage with becomes our life.”― Kari Leibowitz, How to Winter: Harness Your Mindset to Thrive on Cold, Dark, or Difficult Days

Nov 21

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Lean Forward into the Present Tense

“Lean forward into your life…catch the best bits and the finest wind. Just tip your feathers in flight a wee bit and see how dramatically that small lean can change your life.”― Mary Anne Radmacher, Lean Forward Into Your Life

“living eulogy.
she danced.
she sang. she took.
she gave.
she loved.
she created.
she dissented. she enlivened.
she saw. she grew. she sweated.
she changed.
she learned. she laughed.
she shed her skin.
she bled on the pages of her days,
she walked through walls,
she lived with intention.”
― Mary Anne Radmacher

Change it all to present tense – thoughts, words, actions
Dance, sing, take, give, love, create, dissent, enliven, see, grow, sweat, change, learn, laugh, shed, bleed, walk through walls, live with intention
Present tense, this day alone
Leaning, leaping, lunging into life – today
With joy, anticipation, grit, gratitude, grief, kindness, generosity, hope, fear, courage, laughter, faith, trust, enthusiasm, colors, sequins, confetti, sprinkles, persistence, grace, love.

“No such thing, the queen said, as too many sequins.”― Mark Doty

Nov 16

Forefront and Backdrop

“There is a magic made by melody:
A spell of rest, and quiet breath, and cool
Heart, that sinks through fading colors deep
To the subaqueous stillness of the sea,
And floats forever in a moon-green pool,
Held in the arms of rhythm and of sleep. ”
― Elizabeth Bishop

“There are those fortunate hours when the world consents to be made into a poem.”― Mark Doty

Space and reflection
Curiosity and attention
Pause and praise
Spell of rest to notice
Forefront and backdrop
Magic of melody, flow
Music and poetry woven into this day
To be found, to be written
Joy, no slight thing

“What did you think, that joy / was some slight thing?”― Mark Doty

Nov 7

Dividends of Joy

“You may delay, but time will not.”― Benjamin Franklin

“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.”― Mother Theresa

Investment of time
Distribution of energy
Diversification of pursuit
Direction of attention, of noticing
Distribution of kindness, generosity, light
Dividends of joy, love, gratitude
Return on investment
Portfolio of days
Well spent
One day at a time.

“To perceive the world differently, we must be willing to change our belief system, let the past slip away, expand our sense of now, and dissolve the fear in our minds,”― William James

Sep 3

Class in Session

“I’M TALKING TO THAT PART OF YOU Today, I’m talking to that part of you who yearns for more. The part of you who knows exactly what you want beyond all else. To that part of you who effortlessly believes that anything is possible, and that it’s possible in an instant. I’m talking to that part of you who longs to break right on through that self-imposed ceiling your mind has created out of fear, lack, should, and could. To smash and shatter it into a billion little pieces. I’m talking to that part of you who longs, who dreams, who dances, who wishes. To the part of you that cheers, that laughs, that leaps, that bounds. To that part of you who truly wants the best for others because it deeply knows that there is more than enough to go round. I’m talking to that part of you who knows what you want and the exact next step to take to get it. To that part of you who knows you’re not broken and isn’t the slightest bit interested in perpetuating the story that says it’s so. To that part of you who knows the way and longs to guide the rest of you back home. Today, that’s the part of you I’m talking to. And I’m asking it to step forward and lead the way.”― Rebecca Campbell, Light is the New Black

Back to school.
Not just for kids.
Keep learning, growing, expanding.
Unlearning and exploring.
Be curious.
Inquiry and enthusiasm.
Reflection and wisdom.
Class is in session.
Course of a lifetime.

“Start before you feel ready. You don’t need to know where it’s all going. You’ll work it out along the way.”― Rebecca Campbell, Light is the New Black

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