Unfocused Awareness

I rely on my ability to pay attention, to focus.

Concentrating has served me well, delivering significant benefits in school and in my career. Studying, reading carefully, listening closely, not letting my mind wander, remembering; I was encouraged to do all of these as my intellectual abilities developed. These skills helped me gather a lot of information.

Focused attention helped me find answers to a lot questions. Fitting the puzzle pieces together in new ways helped me find new results, new approaches.

I was taught to trust what my senses told me. I depend on what I see with my own eyes, hear with my own ears. The proof of the pudding is in the eating. If you want to learn, you need to pay attention.

I believed that not paying attention was not very practical. Looking out the window while not listening is being distracted. Distractions move us in directions where we do not want to go. Concentrating helps us see the next step. I was very motivated to keep moving, get results, accomplish what I set out to do.

I was not raised to be a dreamer.

The challenge with focus is that it limits our scope. We may be able to see one thing very clearly, but we tend to miss so many other things that are happening at the same time.

Focus is good for playing a specific piece of music. Unfocused awareness gives us opportunities to hear music we might have been missing.

Focus is helpful when we are putting things together in a certain way. Unfocused awareness opens us to new ways of seeing how things work, how they might fit together.

How often do you take the time to explore what lack of focus can show you?

What does your unfocused awareness reveal to you?

[Image by I.Gouss]