Keeping Focus

First, I am so pleased at the outcome of the French national election! France, you have my heart and best wishes for a job well done. You have focused on the right things and taken action!  Good Job!

And now onward to my post for the day:

It is easy to be interested in several things at once. Some topics are naturally riveting and relate to many other topics as well. This makes focusing difficult. Add to that our relationships with family, neighbors, friends and work associates and the pressure to split our attention among many expands exponentially.

Yes, I know; so much of our attention does coalesce with common themes with each of our areas of interest. Differentiation by gender in our society is one interest; why is this such a difficult issue when we all have mothers, sisters, aunts, grandmothers, and so on, not to mention deep friendships with women of our acquaintance. And this is just gender issues held by men about women. Now add the same by women about men! We all have these issues to ferret out and weigh. Often we have ‘issues’ without knowing. All the more reason to focus on this matter now!

Age differentiations are also a fruitful area to pursue. Youth usually have problems relating to older people and trusting them, too. And the reverse is also true. Elders are quick to discount youth for callowness and inexperience. The strengths and weaknesses of each age group are loaded with opportunities to gain insight. And we ought to make this a serious investment of our time and attention to learn and expand our minds.

Regional cultures are also an area of bias – North versus South in America; British accents establish cultural benefits not necessarily earned; European elevation of education and cultural status is often assumed in our relationships. And of course, there is the opposite bias – Americans are such boobs when it comes to worldliness. And yes, that bias is often well-earned.

Religions often give us trouble. Just believing is a problem for those who don’t believe. Spirituality versus actual religious beliefs and creeds is another. One is specific and the other general. Does one actually believe all that is in his/her religious dogma? And of course there are the different religious traditions that cause disturbance among many – Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hinduism, Buddhism, and all the rest. Plus many of these religious traditions are based on geographic areas of the globe that become weighed down by cultural and governmental ideologies. Politics. People being people in their own setting and then having to relate with others from different settings.

The above broad categories provide focal distortions aplenty. Now add all the subject matters we are engaged with: education, poverty, geopolitical understanding, art interests, cultural attraction and travel, economics, careerism and creation of meaningful life paths. These topics only scratch the surface of the things we are individually interested in.

No wonder our public discourse is varied and confusing. There is much to talk about and explore. The first of the discourse ought to be the methodology of discourse so we are fairly hearing one another and processing the multiplicity of ideas.

So, keeping our focus is a challenge. Most likely this has been a major task for all of mankind throughout history. Why should it be any different for us in our day and age? Well, it isn’t any different so we need to heed the call to keep our focus.

In my volunteer work many clients face so many opportunities that it is difficult to choose. And yes, not all options are related, though some are. Often we don’t want to choose to eliminate an option because we don’t want to lose connection with it in the future. Well we don’t automatically lose it entirely; it will remain an interest unless it is pushed out by more pressing issues.

Focusing on what matters the most for us is an individual and personal task of discernment. We cannot be the master of everything; we must choose what captures our intellect and emotions the most and for which we have a natural ability to serve.

And it is not all about money. Doing what one is happiest doing is most likely the most important decision any of us can make. Take the plunge and dedicate your life to those few things that truly engage and expand your awareness. Those are the matters that will prove most successful and rewarding for you.

And only you can do this work of discernment. It’s tough. It’s demanding. But it is also essential you do it.

If it doesn’t work out there are always the other choices you didn’t engage! You won’t know anything about this, however, until you take the initial dive and make the commitment.

We bet you will be pleasantly surprised!

May 8, 2017