Out of the mouths of babes… “Come on, focus,” that phrase was shared with me repeatedly over the past couple of weeks by my two year old grandson, Christopher. The first time I heard it, I was with my daughter, Christopher’s mother. We both looked at each other and said simultaneously, “Where did that come from?” It was even more incredible because Christopher said it in the right context of a task we were working on at our family cabin.
As I shared recently, wondering about attention as a result of a fall I had earlier this summer has lead me to ponder it further So, as the saying goes, out of the mouths of babes (thank you, Christopher) I have wondered over the past several weeks: “Where do I focus my attention? What is the chatter going on in my brain?” In conjunction with those interior babbling conversations, what about all of the outside “noise” in my life with people, places and things. Where is my focus? Am I mindful, recognizing if the thoughts are worth the time and energy? Do my focused thoughts lead me to thrive and flourish out in the field of my life?
Well, yes and no.
When I consider the synonyms thrive/flourish, the definitions speak to growing vigorously or luxuriantly, to progress, to heighten development. Those definitions give me pause, as I consider the possibilities of what my thoughts are focused on. There is a lot of chatter and noise both inside of me and outside of me. Let’s face it, the focus on the hamster wheel of negative thoughts that keep circling around and around happens. And it is noisy! I have wondered how much time and energy I stockpile with thoughts of a negative focus and fuel that wheel. Those thoughts keep circling around and around with no detour track to progress in a positive way. It happens relative to my life circumstances, relationships and a myriad of arenas in my life.
That’s where mindfulness has come in for me, it helps to give me pause to still the wheel and silence the noise. I stop the “hamster wheel” and redirect my focus. There is power in that mindful pause. It only take a couple of minutes, but wow…
There is the possibility for my mind to focus on a thought path which promotes thriving progress in my life. It’s up to me, I can choose to take that pause at any time.
So, if I can slightly amend out of the mouth of babes (and my grandson)…”Come on, Pause…then Focus” then let’s discover where that track can lead.
Barbara
9/5/18
For further information about enacting the power of the mindful pause and its steps, check out https://www.mindful.org/the-power-of-pause/
Inspiring!
I find that I am more satisfied with my life and my work when I do focus on something and block out all the noise. Flitting from one thing to another does not create happiness but only chaos. Mindfulness (focus) is a great lesson to practice everyday. Good luck with that Christopher!
This is worth a lot of contemplation. It reminds me of the difference between child and adult perception. By the time we become adults, we have a repertoire of past experiences upon which we create a set of filters for our future encounters. This enables us to restrict our perception fairly accurately..
But children have no such experience base to limit their perception. So it is wide open to whatever catches their attention at any moment.
Thanks for your insight, Bill! You are so right… children are wide open and without preconceived ideas they may be able to take in more. There is a delicate balance to being open enough to be present and yet able to focus when necessary. Ah the wonders of navigating this human experience… So glad to have your voice in the conversation!