Never Too Poor to Pay Attention

 ​Friends, 

I read this week that William James defined attention as “the sudden taking possession by the mind, in clear and vivid form, of one of what seems several simultaneously possible objects or trains of thought.” That comment drew me back into a thought bubble that I have been visiting for many years now, since reading Immanuel Kant description of the “act of attention” which he called aufmerkung, or 'marking out.’ Of all the sensations that bombard us in sight and sound at every moment, marking something out, paying attention, is a challenge.

 

Various writers along the way have tried to name what prevents us from paying attention. Neil Postman's 1985 book, Amusing Ourselves to Death, blamed television for reducing our ability to concentrate through an insatiable glut of entertainment. Imagine what Postman would have said about Tik-Tok or Facebook Reels if he were still with us. Daniel Goleman's 2013 book, Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence, argued that there are two types of “distractions,” the nemesis of attention - sensory overload from without and emotional stress from within. Kathleen Norris, in The Quotidian Mysteries, and Richard Rohr's morning devotions consistently draw us to see - really attend to – the depth and meaning of ordinary activities that we do daily. It's not easy to do when we endeavor to multi-task and measure ourselves by productivity. 

 

I suspect this is what Jesus was addressing in the Sermon on the Mount when he said, “If your eye is single your whole body will be full of light.” Modern translations make it “If your eye is healthy …” but I have always thought the King James translation - following its use in ancient Greek literature – captures the meaning best with “single.” 

 

If your eye is single, your whole body will be full of light. 

 

This singularity of vision - pushing past distractions from without or within to really see, concentrate, notice, appreciate - is what I value most about the season of Lent. Unlike a New Year's resolution that makes a bold commitment from now to whenever (usually petering out around January 14th), Lent is a finite, six-week period, during which we can commit ourselves to something with fervor and purpose. And as a season that leads us on Christ's journey to the cross, the gifts of this season - from opportunities to deny ourselves, to wearing the ashes of mortality, to confessing our shortcomings (even the arrogance of our will power), and losing ourselves in Christ - are endless. 

 

If you will excuse my alliterative tendencies, I think concentration is the key to consecration. Think of that moment when we are pouring wine from the pitcher to the chalice. The mesmerizing effect of such a common act of pouring a liquid becomes the gateway to hearing the words, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”  The presence of Christ in ordinary food and drink is hard to fathom when we have several apps opened all at once, with constant interruptions, or within the noise of everything, everywhere, all at once. When our eye is single, our whole body is full of the light of Jesus’ presence. 

 

Distraction-free time can be an elusive luxury for certain seasons in our lives, such as when raising children, starting down a career path, or undergoing a transition. So, I am throwing no shade here on those whose commitments to serving others don’t allow a lot of “God and Me” time. Still, I hope we can find ways to focus our attention in the mommastery as well as in the monastery. So, as we look for ways to engage with meaningful attention during this season of Lent, let’s begin by offering ourselves some grace. And let’s do this together.

 

Mark of St. Mark