it's easy to lose our focus.
distractions flutter by, right and left, and different options are incessantly sprinkling down into our lives. complications, diversions, and interruptions are constant companions on the road to a goal.
making it easy to lose focus.
our spin instructors frequently remind us to focus, and I have to reel my mind back in from one of the many places it likes to wander. I'm distracted by the view---those regal pines nearby and majestic mountains far to the west, and the miles and miles of blue sky and buildings between the two---and I'm distracted by thoughts of what my agenda for the day holds. or other thoughts. or ideas. or desires.
besides, there are times when focusing on your aching legs and overextended lungs is the last thing you want to do.
in the real world, focus is important too. I at times lose my focus, and I realized that during class this morning. it's so easy to get distracted by those little things coming at you, pulling you from what really matters.
for me it's like driving in the deep of night during a blizzard. there are other cars, lights beside and behind and in front of you. there might be ridges of slush and snow on the road, between lanes. your own dashboard is full of colored lights, glowing and providing information you may or may not need. and most distractedly, snowflakes shoot down from the sky by the thousands, dancing and mocking your eyes as you try to concentrate on the road in front of you.
the only way to survive this is to focus on that road in front of you, pushing the swirling snow and every other potential distraction into your peripheral vision. it is both a relaxing of your gaze and a tightening of your focus, and I find it to be the only way I can navigate my way out of such a storm.
life has its own storms, even when all seems calm and even positive. diversions throw themselves in front of you, and interruptions erupt on a regular basis. it's easy to become side-tracked, and to find yourself far from the destination you had chosen.
this morning I stared deeply into the pine trees on the far side of the jcc pool, and pulled my focus back together. I thought about what truly matters, what's most important to me, what I set my focus on a long time ago. I acknowledged the lights and snowflakes that were trying to distract me, and recommitted to my focus.
keep your eyes on the road in front of you, is what leslie tells us every friday morning during class.
and I will.
1 comment:
So much to say and so little time. Let's see, it seems that distractions from focus, if experienced and recognized objectively as distractions, simply remind us that we have lost our focus from what really matters. Hence, distractions are a gift, sometimes a dangerous gift, because if we veer off course too far before we recognize we're off course (from what really matters), it may be difficult to regain our truth path that serves us best. That said, distractions remind us of our true path so we can get back on it. I'm reminded of mountain bike trails in the nearby Wasatch that often have spurs. They look so alluring, but often dead end. Sometimes the spur yields a great vista, and we can savor that for what it is, a vista. However, if we continue to be distracted by spur after spur, we undoubtedly end up lost as darkness approaches. Wisdom is sensing when the spur is indeed a spur so one can return to the main trail and continue our journey. Isn't life savory when we know our true path, recognize spurs (distractions) as such, make course corrections, and return to our true path? We can also be compassionate toward self to know that life is full of spurs and that without them we cannot strengthen our wisdom. Wisdom is knowing when to refocus on what really matters.
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