Attention

I am grateful for my ability to control where my attention lies. It's an imperfect skill, but practicing is a lot of fun and it's rewarding. I've taken to working on my attention during my walks with the dog. I'll repeatedly silence my internal dialogue and internal radio as necessary and focus on the sounds that surround me: birds, crickets, frogs, cars, AC units, conversations, etc. I'll open myself up to the breeze, the sunshine, or the cloudy, refracted light that falls on me. I'll focus on my breathing or something at the core of my being. The point is to tune my awareness to what exists around and within me. To watch it. To observe it. To sit quietly with it without jumping to any conclusions.

This is meditation. I was first introduced to it in an academic setting when I enrolled in "Meditation and Virtue" as a budding philosophy major. With daily, incremental meditation homework, my ability to harness my attention and my ability to choose to remain focused despite potential distractions skyrocketed. That last phrase is carefully chosen—it's not that I "tuned out" distractions, but rather I noticed them, watched them for a moment, and willfully turned my attention back to the task at hand (this came in handy when my roommate was going through his Disney soundtrack phase and insisted on blasting it on his stereo while I worked). It's incredible what our minds are capable of when we sit with them and explore them. We are amazing creatures. Thank you mind. Thank you body. Thank you for giving me the ability to choose where I focus my energy and attention. And thank you for allowing me to practice and develop this ability. The path is usually more exciting than the destination.

(photo as it appears on: http://imperfectspirituality.com/2014/04/14/am-i-doing-it-s-meditation/)