Heart Pocket Word for the Day is Attention!

Compelling images by photographer Lucy Huffstetter - click to see more! 

The word from my heart pocket is Attention.

Notice. Be aware. Observe. Listen and hear. Consider with focus. Be mindful. Suspend time and don't be a slave to it. Be mindful. Enjoy the Moments in your life. A marvelous way to do this is to read a novel or a biography. If reading is an addiction for you, try not reading for an entire day and see where your attention is redirected. Once you awaken to the power of attention, you will be amazed at what you experience!
I was sitting in my car at a stoplight. The person in the car in the adjacent lane was texting. The lane this person was in ended and she would have to pull into my lane in order to get on the freeway. I looked over at her several times while we waited to wave her in front of me. She was busy with her phone and didn't look up. The light turned green and I glanced one more time at the driver next to me. Her attention was still on her cell phone. I wanted to be on time for an appointment and turned my attention back to the light. Off I went. I heard a din of honking horns, all aimed toward the young lady who was intent on checking her emails. Because her attention was elsewhere, she missed the opportunity to easily get on the freeway. She also stopped the flow of traffic. She might have been lost and looking at a map on her phone to decide whether to get on the freeway or take another route. In any case, both of us gave our attention to what was most important to us at the moment. I looked in my rear view mirror as I entered the freeway and saw her hit the steering wheel with her hand. She would have to wait for another green light.


Wherever we focus our attention is where the opportunities lie. Opportunity is everywhere and while we're looking at the classifieds, the front page might mention the lead we need. When we focus on exercise and diet alone, the taxes still sit on the dining room table. We might not listen closely to a friend's story at lunch and miss the part about the boss looking for a new department manager. We choose to help our child with his science project instead of watching American Idol. The winner gets our attention. If we are pleased with how things are going or surprised we're not getting anywhere, perhaps we should take a look at where we are putting our attention.

There is no right or wrong here. It is full of logic and is backed up by persistence and passion. Sometimes an effort requires all of our attention. For a period of allotted time, we zero in and shut everything else out. We can also spread our attention throughout our day and accomplish a lot in a short period of time. Sometimes we need to divert our attention to something restful and pleasurable so the imagination can help the brain connect the dots. Taking a moment to focus on prioritizing the day is a moment well spent. When we pull the camera to see the whole picture, our attention is drawn to the panorama. We can see the beauty in our project (our lives) and we might have a different perspective on our approach. We might need to zoom back in on a specific area and notice the details. Using all of our senses, including those that are not as practiced like intuition and spatial sensitivities, show opportunities we could never have otherwise imagined.