I must learn to focus! - Don't Be A Wage Slave

Increasingly, I remind myself to truly study what occurs around me. I must analyze the sights, sounds, and information that flow into my psyche. Many of us are not aware of the life we lead. Reality is solely in the present, though we mostly think of our subsequent years. I would formerly place myself in this camp. For many years, I was on an odyssey to the future.

There was, effectively, no present. I was on a journey to finish school, find a job, get married, have a family, and become rich — ultimately retiring as (my own form of) Midas. But, much like the mighty king experienced the consequences of his ill-fated wishes, (1) I too, ultimately, was presented with a different path in life. At 45, I experienced a series of traumatic events that altered my perception and how I viewed existence itself. This was unique to me but is a somewhat common human experience. Many individuals encounter some distressing developments in their middle years that, ultimately at its most positive, open another chapter of life — perhaps a portal to an even more spiritual and reflective self.

The opposite is equally possible. One can have a jarring incident and then stumble into the darkest of places. When you read the life stories of those who soared so high and then plunged so low, you are humbled at the fickleness of life. A form of earthly Hades (2) can capture anyone. I think it would be too smug of me to say, “In my case, that is impossible.” Life is timing, making intelligent decisions, good family connectivity, and God-given luck — the latter invited through prayer and meditation. Your personal relationship with the divine is the only true intimacy, I believe. In this, we ought to elicit free will in planning for the vagaries of life — though impossible in concrete terms, this certainly makes one aware of the capriciousness of existence.

The answer to life’s mystery begins with focusing on the world we inhabit. It is not a man-created subset of noise, movement, steel, and glass. It is overflowing with living creatures — the bugs, bees, and birds are but background sounds to a civilization that, increasingly, takes itself far too seriously. (3) Just grasping that I am a creature of the universe and have a right to be here, to paraphrase Desiderata, (4) goes a distance in understanding my place in the cosmos.

That said, if I simply see my life as one enormous movie and I don’t stop to call for an intermission from time to time, I will never find a moment to refresh myself and see what the hour is. What is the “really real,” and what, honestly, is my life mission? All answers lie within. To discover them, one must simply stop and focus on the natural beauty that exists all around us. Our life answers are there to be unsealed. Aristotle Onassis (5) leaves us with a thought: It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.

A closing thought: It is relatively easy to get caught up in the busyness of life. Hanna Arendt (6) draws our attention to the banality of evil. If we don’t think, we can stumble into committing all sorts of egregious and wicked actions. The surfeit of information that flows from the Internet only encourages a lack of reflection. But, on a positive note, a personal decision to pay attention to the events of the present and past, for that matter — and a true belief in the necessity of my actions in changing the world — goes a long way in countering this scourge.

To sum up: This week, we spoke about the necessity of learning to focus on the world around us. My actions should be thoughtful and reasoned in their response to life. I must learn to think.

To be noted: From Archibald Lampman (7) —

There is a beauty at the goal of life,

A beauty growing since the world began,

Through every age and race, through lapse and strife

Till the great human soul complete her span.

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