Word of the Week: Attention

Since we've just been talking about monkey minds and about attention span related to sentence length, it's only natural that the word of the week should be 

attention

If we take a look at what we're saying when we use that word, it'll come clear that really there can be no such thing as attention deficit; it's all a matter of quality.

attention < Latin ad+tendere, "to stretch toward"

In addition to those with a different prefix, like intention, ("stretching inward) detention ("stretched back"), tension also comes from tendere, and the notion of stretching is very obvious in tension.

"Stretching toward." We do a certain amount of this unconsciously. Drop yourself, or an object, and it'll go straight toward the ground. Gravity as tension. But all plants move/grow toward the sun, and we do, too, if we're paying attention to our movements. Heliotropism as tension.

We are stretched between two fires: the warm core of the center of the earth, the searing core of the sun. In the tension between these we go about our lives. These non-negotiable stretching/tensions are like the taut ropes that stand up a network and make it three-dimensional.

And this is where the prefix ad (which becomes "at" in front of "tention") gives us our freedom. We take that same quality of tension, and we choose where to point it--conscious tensions.

It's the difference between seeing--an indistinct, unorderd set of impressions--and looking--a directed, focused concentration on what's before one's eyes, prioritizing one particular object or set of objects and letting everything else fade from notice.

It's the difference between hearing--so many sounds in 360 degrees of the environment, a whole gamut of pitches and patterns, indiscriminate--and listening--focusing in on a set of sounds, resolving them into words and speech, or concentrating on what was just background music, focusing in more closely yet to isolate just the base line anchoring the melody.

It's the difference between the unconscious, inevitable touching  of  a body in space and the conscious contacting touch, deliberate performance of connection, live vibration of atoms brought into proximity.

The difference between inhaling the air and whatever other chemicals might be riding on it and smelling, discerning, taking in, reading the air.

Or it's the difference between consuming, with the mouth or other senses and tasting, the mindful, exploratory, open, aware  absorption of the information provided by flavors and textures.

Isn't it fascinating that we can speak of an  unconscious and a conscious use for each sense? Our senses can work on autopilot, just through the movement of atoms and the structure of our anatomy--the tensions that hold up the web of life.

But when I attend with my eyes, my ears, my nose, I can be aware of what in my environment is drawing me or pushing me away--sights, sounds smells even a long way away. And when I attend with the capsule of skin locking me into right-here, or with the sensors on mouth and tongue inside of me, I notice that I am always touching something, there is always some sort of taste on my tongue. Stretch myself toward all this information, and I'm ready for whatever comes next.

"Ready for whatever comes next" takes me to the last point I must mention about attention. Most words in English that come from Latin came in via French. And guess what? In French, attendre means "to wait." How does "stretching toward" mean "waiting"? 

I'll show you how, through English. What's another word for waiter? Yes, attendant. It's not just that waiting, with all its nuance of passivity, expectation, not knowing what's coming next, can be done attentively. It's also that attending, with all its nuance of focus , concentration, directedness, can be done in a spirit of service, dedicating the focus to the oversight of another being/person/deity, surrendered, waiting for the next direction.

So, attending is focus and concentration, zeroing in on something specific and letting the rest fall into the background, but it is also waiting, in the sense of being a waiter, attentive to the needs of another, surrendered, observant.

I don't think anyone has a deficit of this. But are you seeing or looking? Hearing or listening?

You can make your monkey mind work for you, but stop and attend once in a while! Notice what the mouse feels like under your right hand. Attend--you may have to wait--it's not just the mouse that you'll feel; you'll have an experience of your hand also.