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01-15-2008, 01:25 PM
O simple ones, learn prudence; O foolish men, pay attention.
—Proverbs 8:5
You might have been sitting in a meeting, mulling over all you had to do when you got home. Or maybe you were having coffee and nibbling on a sweet roll, thinking of nothing in particular. Whatever the occasion, you've probably heard the accusatory question, "Are you listening to me?"
Listening—paying attention—isn't something we're born knowing how to do. Granted, people with certain temperaments may pick up the skill more easily than others, but it's still an action that requires practice, and lots of it. Even Jesus' disciples had to be reminded of this fact from time to time. "Listen!" Jesus tells them as he begins his parable of the sower. "A sower went out to sow.... "
The irony is that for all the hours we spend talking on our cell phones or driving in the car with the radio on full blast, we're not very good at listening. For starters, we're often doing several things at once—checking our calendars, sending e-mail, eating a quick lunch on the go. Add the noise and distractions of modern life, and it's a wonder we can pay any attention at all.
So how do we learn this skill? We could begin by consciously deciding when and where we want to use our phones. How important is it that we be constantly available to everyone we know? Probably not as important as we think. We could try driving in silence every now and then, or finding even a few minutes in the day to be alone.
More important, we could attempt to do just one thing at a time, being totally present to that. Indeed, this is what paying attention is really about—being present to just one thing, not two, not ten, regardless of their importance. Waiting, listening, we learn to pay attention to our lives. Paying attention, we begin to learn how to pray.
O God, when I am distracted or trying to do too much, help me be totally present to you.
The Signposts
—Proverbs 8:5
You might have been sitting in a meeting, mulling over all you had to do when you got home. Or maybe you were having coffee and nibbling on a sweet roll, thinking of nothing in particular. Whatever the occasion, you've probably heard the accusatory question, "Are you listening to me?"
Listening—paying attention—isn't something we're born knowing how to do. Granted, people with certain temperaments may pick up the skill more easily than others, but it's still an action that requires practice, and lots of it. Even Jesus' disciples had to be reminded of this fact from time to time. "Listen!" Jesus tells them as he begins his parable of the sower. "A sower went out to sow.... "
The irony is that for all the hours we spend talking on our cell phones or driving in the car with the radio on full blast, we're not very good at listening. For starters, we're often doing several things at once—checking our calendars, sending e-mail, eating a quick lunch on the go. Add the noise and distractions of modern life, and it's a wonder we can pay any attention at all.
So how do we learn this skill? We could begin by consciously deciding when and where we want to use our phones. How important is it that we be constantly available to everyone we know? Probably not as important as we think. We could try driving in silence every now and then, or finding even a few minutes in the day to be alone.
More important, we could attempt to do just one thing at a time, being totally present to that. Indeed, this is what paying attention is really about—being present to just one thing, not two, not ten, regardless of their importance. Waiting, listening, we learn to pay attention to our lives. Paying attention, we begin to learn how to pray.
O God, when I am distracted or trying to do too much, help me be totally present to you.
The Signposts