Paying with My Life: Cultivating Focus in a Distracted World

By Antoinette

Mary Oliver beautifully said, “Attention is the beginning of devotion.”

This quote illustrates that attention becomes the focus of devotion. So, what is it that I want to devote my attention to and why?

The True Cost of Distraction

Every moment, we choose where to direct our attention, and that choice comes at a cost. We are essentially paying with our lives for every moment lost to these distractions.

“We Pay with Our Lives”

With roughly four thousand weeks in an average lifespan, each moment spent on things that distract me is time taken away from truly living. Four thousand weeks is saying we live to around 80 years old. Think about it, how much of the time are you appreciating life and how much of it are you distracted by something else?

Valuing Attention as Devotion

Neurons that fire together wire together- which essentially means that where our attention flows, energy grows.

Knowing these facts is a powerful tool to show us that we must choose our focus wisely. Research shows that we spend over twenty-one years of our lives looking at screens, draining our mental resources. The average person between the ages of 20-60 years of age spends 2-3 hours a day, about a 1000 hours per year of their life on social media! Our attention is also focused on many other things that cause us to be “busy” constantly running around after so many distractions. What do we need to invest our attention on?

Breaking Free from Digital Addiction

Dopamine-driven distractions trap us in cycles of unfulfilling consumption. By consciously choosing where we direct our attention, we can break free and reclaim our vitality.

Meditation is an actual method to cleans our mind of negative thoughts, stress, worries and burdens. When these are eliminated, it becomes easier to appreciate life. As this appreciation grows, we become more selective about how we use our attention. This makes it much easier to come out of our addiction to the phone or the social media brain drain.

The Freedom of Focus

I have found that using the meditation method to discard distractions like negative thoughts, anxiety, stress and burdens is an excellent way of focusing my attention. The meditation method has brought me happiness and helped me to choose wisely where to put my energy.

This meditation method teaches how to discard these false images that have been building up inside my mind. When we discard or let go of things we accumulate it allows us to focus on what is true, real and alive. Namely ourselves and the moment we are living in. Consider the opportunity cost of where you decide to place your valuable attention! Spend your attention wisely to BECOME free and happy!

Attention as Currency for Life

In practicing this method, we discard the mental images that weigh us down, allowing our attention to focus on the true essence of life, this precious opportunity of the present moment becomes our greatest asset. It is freedom and liberation from our mind’s world of images into the living world.

The Power of Intentional Attention

In the end, what we pay attention to grows stronger. By focusing on what is truly real and alive, we cultivate freedom and joy in the present moment. Our attention becomes the energy of life itself, that never dies.

I’m grateful for this method and the clarity it brings, as it allows me to pay attention with wisdom, enriching my life each time I choose to focus awareness keenly.

Happy Meditation!