All of Them!

What details of your life could you pay more attention to?

Attention is a fleeting companion. Being attentive in any moment is a challenge; still, to be awake is to attend one’s life.

I love that word, “Attend.” We attend concerts, the movies, the theatre, parties, meetings, and school. Is our attendance more than an appearance of being there? Sometimes it would be we are more accomplished at being anywhere but here where we are! We can be elsewhere in our thoughts, emotions, or daydreams. Our bodies are “here” while our consciousness is not.

Recognizing my propensity to be elsewhere while also intending to always be here, I must be careful not to set myself up for failure. I am absolutely serious about being more attentive in every detail of my life. I have practicing something else altogether. I desire to change my practice and I realize I must begin somewhere. Practice one day, one moment at a time…

One way to practice being here is through active alertness. I can bring myself back to here and now by bringing my attention back to my body which is always here. I can watch my breathing or feel my feet on the floor. This is where I am. Being here I can receive this moment as it arises.

In my life, I practice intentional presence. Using the practice of centering prayer daily (a form of passive meditation), I let go each time I become aware of a thought or emotion; I seek to empty myself. I practice letting go of my attachment to one moment over another. I resist no thought AND I retain no thought. I return to my intention by using a sacred word, not as a mantra but as a reminder of my intention.

Having practiced letting go in centering prayer, I am more able to be present, to attend this moment and this detail. I believe all of us want to attend our lives though there are many distractions along the way.

I attend this moment now. Repeatedly. It is the only moment I have. This practice will allow me to experience more of the details of life, the ones I want to “pay more attention to.”