A world that feeds ADD in us all – the forgotten art of focus

Cafe…about 35 people…and all but one head down and fiddling with a mobile device.

Even those people who are apparently in the cafe together. Not talking to each other, but heads bent…lost in a world of digital.

1000 emails a day, plus your choice of poison…be it twitter, facebook, instagram…news feeds…or all of the above.

This is our life of constant distraction. Senses overload. With frequent pings to remind us of a new message or tweet.

Add to this lack of sleep and busi-ness, and we are all suffering from attention deficit disorder.

The art of focus, of refusing to multitask, of being fully present to the person right in front of you or the activity…why do we not celebrate this as a high skill?

When did we place half attention on the altar of achievement? A gold star to John, who half attended to our customer, Mrs O’Neil, as he was busy juggling all of the other distractions of his day.

When did you last take a good chunk of time and simply sit and be? Be with your child as they work to read a difficult passage? Be with your lover as they unravel their frustrations of the day?

Or…radical thought…be with yourself? Pay attention to the deep call of your 2:23 AM moments?

Instead of attention deficit, we need more attention. Focused attention. And that is an inside job.

Photo credit: David Rothwell via Compfight