01/06/2022
“Pay Attention”. “Spend Your Energy”.
Our language indicates that our attention and our energy are like currency, but i find that we don’t invest our attention and energy with the same that we would money. it’s important to recognize that we have choices about where to direct both and that there is power in doing so.
Right now the world has enormous forces of capitalism – companies, lobbyists and individuals wanting, above all else, to make money. Some say they want to make an impact or leave a legacy of greatness, and that might feel true. i believe there is also an underlying compulsion borne of wanting to find comfort where there is sadness, induce numbness where there is pain, and feel a notion of security where there is profound uncertainty.
And so we consume apps that show happy videos, or buy products to magically solve our greatest insecurities, and spend excessive time on virtual platforms where it might be easier to shield our vulnerability. There is nothing inherently wrong with using these platforms or products. But I wonder about my own use: Am i using them with intention? Am i using them as a tool of authentic expression and connection? Am i using them to steer me away from some part of the human experience?..
i believe our power lies in our ability to face the fullness of our human experience, including pain, suffering, discomfort, uncertainty, fear, lack of control… and not try to change or avoid them. When we can sit with these, we see that they are temporary and so they do not have to control our actions. From there we can generate actions rooted in expansive possibility. Being able to face these is also, at this moment in history, a competitive advantage, simply because many people can’t sit with these parts of being human.
I know much of this post is a bummer - as is the movie, “Don’t Look Up”, much of the time. But we must look around - remember that it is okay to feel bummed out, and know that what we do as a result does indeed matter.
Pay attention.
Spend your energy.
It seems to me that these are the only two things we can control.