Finding Focus
About twenty years ago, while living in Salt Lake City, I came across a stone that is still with me to this day. It is a smoothly shaped stone that can be held in the palm of my hand with a beautiful butterfly etched on one side. I have spent many a day rubbing this stone between my fingers, thinking through situations and seeking resolutions. It is my personal “thinking” stone that helps me calm all of the noise in my brain during times of uncertainty.
The stone currently lives in my car and I pick it up often while driving. The quiet of the road and requisite stillness is fertile ground for contemplation. I actually enjoy this time; the repetitiveness of rubbing the stone along with the sound of the road is oddly relaxing. After taking a few minutes to “zen-out” I always feel a bit more focused and sure of myself.
While dancing, I replicated this focus by taking daily class. When dancing, the mind cannot wander and full attention to the movement is required. An example of this not going as planned was when I broke my foot simply by thinking of my to do list while in the middle of petit allegro. A mistake such as this caused me months of training and much discomfort, a very good but painful lesson on the importance of focus.
“Sometimes I think there are only two instructions we need to follow to develop and deepen our spiritual life: slow down and let go.”
― Oriah Mountain Dreamer, The Dance: Moving To the Rhythms of Your True Self
I believe that a relaxed state of focus can only be achieved by slowing down the pace of each day whenever possible. Zen Buddhist and advocate of slowness, Haemin Sunim, was recently interviewed on NPR about this very topic. He spoke to the point that the best mechanism for happiness and clarity is to slow down the brain. Easier said than done in our busyness culture of today. He has also written a book titled “The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down” about this very topic that I highly recommend.
I continue to have an ongoing fascination with the culture of busy versus the idea of slowing down, never really understanding the need it now mentality. Mental clarity cannot be achieved by multitasking nor is this a worthy goal. Mental clarity can only be achieved with focus. As a woman that has worked my whole adult life while raising children, I am well aware of the pitfalls of multitasking, never really giving any one thing complete attention. In this way I was becoming a jack of all trades but a master of none.
“mind that is fast is sick, a mind that is slow is sound, and a mind that is still is divine. This is what the Bible means when it says, “Be still and know that I am God.”
― Eknath Easwaran, The Mantram Handbook
Another leader in the slow living community is Eknath Easwaran. I simply adore his writing. I wrote a post about one of his books Love Never Faileth that I cherish and still reach for at times when I am feeling a little out of sorts. Words can have the same affect as my thinking stone, calming the mind and slowing down the freeway of thoughts that plague me when taking on too much.
The question that lingers for me is the “why”. Why do we insist on moving about the world at breakneck speed? What are we afraid of missing? Did it ever occur to anyone that simply by moving at this pace, we are missing the point of a meaningful life? These questions haunt me. I sometimes get the urge to just throw my hands up and say “NO”, I will not move at this pace to meet an end that has no merit in the grander scheme of things.
When was the last time you stopped to talk with someone in line at the store, or start a conversation with a neighborhood or gym companion? We are all walking this planet together and are interconnected in ways that may not be visible in our rush to achieve, acquire and succeed. I challenge you to take some time and explore slowness. Sit quietly with a loved one, read a book, walk in nature with no agenda or time limitation. Allow your mind to unravel the knots of expectations and just be. In doing so, you may actually see things in a new light and the answers you seek may come to you effortlessly. Live slow and let go.