What We Talk About When We Talk About God
Attention is all we have. According to philosopher Simone Weil, it is sacred — the rarest form of generosity:
“Attention alone, that attention which is so full that the ‘I’ disappears, is required of me. I have to deprive all that I call ‘I’ of the light of my attention and turn it onto that which cannot be conceived.”
Alex Dobrenko` • switching to a "dumb" phone made me feel pretty dang smart
Philosophers have been worrying about distraction at least since the time of the ancient Greeks, who saw it less as a matter of external interruptions and more as a question of character—a systematic inner failure to use one’s time on what one claimed to value the most. Their reason for treating distraction so seriously was straightforward, and it’
... See moreOliver Burkeman • Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals
The poet Mary Oliver writes, “Attention is the beginning of devotion.”
Ingrid Fetell Lee • Joyful: The surprising power of ordinary things to create extraordinary happiness
Until we are in a state of conscious presence, we are merely whatever commands and occupies our attention. We want to keep “the rose” in mind, but our minds are drawn to judgment, worry, regret, discontent, desire. Passive attention merely reacts to whatever is strongest in our environment, especially whatever threatens or exalts our ego. As long a
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