Where do you put your attention?

From Fog to Flow (6 of 10)

Brenda Brayko

Aug 19, 2022

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Brenda sky-gazing. Pamperin Park, Green Bay, WI, 2022.

Putting Attention on Attention

Last week we put our attention on removing the masks we wear in order to be our authentic selves. Did you practice? I hope you experienced the satisfaction of truly seeing another in their beauty and truth, if even for a moment. There’s a sacred sort of intimacy that happens when two people connect authentically. As we move from fog to flow, this week our attention is on attention - where you put your attention, to be exact.

The thing about attention is that it is almost always engaged in some way. You can move through the world consciously or unconsciously, but your attention will be somewhere. In moving from fog to flow, the secret is to become more consistently conscious of your thoughts.

Imagine yourself on a nice walk through a neighborhood park. Or, simply sitting on a bench there as children play. You have a moment to yourself, no responsibilities. Where does your mind go? a) Yesterday’s near accident when you were only blocks from home. b) The upcoming class reunion in a few days. c) The children playing in the park.

Where your mind goes gives you clues to where you are putting your attention. Then, Now, or Later? In this scenario, by choosing to be at a park when you have a bit of time to yourself with no responsibilities, thinking about the past or future only robs you of the beauty of the present moment - the sound of children playing, the gentle breeze, the blue or gray sky, the sensation of walking or sitting. This is where restoration and even joy reside: in the present moment where you are.

Boomer’s stomping grounds revisited. Ted Fritsch Park, Green Bay, WI 2022.

The Present Moment

I actually experienced this transformation for myself around fifteen years ago. I used to walk my dog Boomer each morning before going to work. I’d put him on the leash and walk the ten minutes to a park where we could wander through a wooded area without running into anything but squirrels. I would work out the day’s lesson plans for my English classes as Boomer bounded through the woods finding squirrels to bark at. By the time I returned home I had figured out precisely what I wanted to do for the day and had rehearsed it several times over (about 4 times more than actually necessary). At the time I was reading The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle.

Tolle was teaching this very concept when the aha moment struck. What was I doing? I was in the beautiful woods WORKING on LESSON PLANS? How exactly was this setting the tone for the day? Suddenly my awareness of the moment connected me to everything around me: the green of the trees, the sound of the breeze through the leaves, the squirrels chattering and my dog barking. I felt, saw, smelled, and heard everything with great vibrancy. And I was very much alive in the moment.

This experience was fleeting but it was the catalyst for a great retraining. With practice and time my routine altered slightly. I would lie in bed allowing the day’s lesson plan inspiration to arrive in that liminal space between waking and sleeping. I’d write down the idea and then let it go until arriving at work where I could spend time fleshing it out or executing the idea. This was far more efficient. Lesson planning no longer accompanied me to the woods or distracted me during my “me time.” Instead, off I would go to the woods where I would gain centering energy for the day from my walk with Boomer. I connected to my dog and to nature and to my Self. This was a joyful routine which over time placed me more squarely in the Now 24/7.

Boomer finds a squirrel at Ted Fritsch Park, Green Bay, 2010.

Worn out by Worry

In my case, I needed to break myself from existing too much in my mind and too often in the future. Worriers sacrifice the present to the future, too. Is your impulse to think: “Oh no! What about this? Or what about that? Or what if this happens?” In a reality that encompasses literally thousands of possibilities every moment for each person, worrying about the future is one of the least productive things you can do with your time and energy. That is not to say that there is not a good reason to make plans or build a calendar in the proper time and place nor to take action when action is warranted, but worrying about it is really energy needlessly spent. (And we have a limited supply of time and energy, don’t we?)

The Past Trap

For others, the past is what traps them. No one escapes life without a measure of suffering and past suffering often is what can capture our attention. Even small past moments can gobble up a Now moment; “I can’t believe I didn’t get the right cream cheese for my bagel” is no reason to not enjoy your breakfast out. Thinking like: “I should have said thus and such to her” or “I can’t believe he/she did that (a few hours ago, yesterday, last year, last decade, before I was born)” essentially traps you in a past that is over. It was over the moment it was over. And a new moment has arrived and is here now for you to experience. I do not mean to sound flippant; I know that deep trauma exists and occupies our very DNA. But you might agree that the moment you are freed of trauma is the moment the past is released to the past and the present is allowed to flourish. So, identifying if your attention is placed in the past, perhaps even reliving traumatic moments, is actually very useful.

Joyfully Living in the Now Bundang, S. Korea c. 2012.

Awareness

Essentially, awareness itself allows you to choose to pay attention to the present moment. And the present moment is often just fine. It may even be joyous, generative, trusting, and filled with love and peace (or a beautiful woods). Of course there are present moments that suck: and we can learn to fully embrace those, too, believe it or not (but that is for another article). A little life hack I learned was to sincerely ask myself: “How am I doing right now?” Pause. Take inventory. (For more on this read the bonus poem at the end.) See what you see. Feel what you feel. Experience fully whatever you are experiencing now. That’s all. You may just discover that with practice you move further from fog to flow; your very being feels lighter.

And Attitude

Awareness itself is a huge component to moving from fog to flow. But the next big piece is the attitude that you bring to it. Is a challenging situation that you perceive as creating overwhelm or opportunity? Does the moment spur grudges or gratitude? Do you find yourself wary of Life or trusting that Life is leading you in the best direction for your highest good? Do you conclude “this could go all wrong” or “this could go all right”? As you move from fog to flow a shift takes place inside of you. Grudges become gratitude and overwhelm becomes opportunity. You become lighter. And your light expands. Fog lifts and flow happens more and more.

But the attitude that you bring calls for its own conscious awareness, which again, benefits from a pause. So, the unfolding looks something like this:

Pause in any moment and take inventory.

Is my mind in the past, present, or future?

What do I see, hear, taste, smell, feel in this very moment? (places you in the Now)
What am I experiencing physically, emotionally at this moment?
Pause
What is my attitude toward that?
What attitude will I consciously choose in this moment?

Brenda at Whitefish Dunes State Park in Lake Michigan. Aug. 2022.

Up to the Knees

With practice and grace, you’ll move further from fog toward flow, where anything is possible. By going inward, your outer life becomes calmer and more consistently centered, even joyous.

You got this! You are wading deeper in the water, more fully held by its buoyancy. You become lighter the more the weight of the past and the future are released. You are stepping into the water up to your knees now. The water can even make you take a step because of the force of the flow. As you allow it to do so, you begin to think it would be okay to do some wave jumping. Why not? No need for the kids to have all the fun.

I’ll see you in a week. Until then, here is a bit of journaling you can do as you practice moving from fog to flow.

Journal prompts:

Where do I generally put my attention?