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Celebrating Everyday Spirituality

Sunflower Seeds

Celebrating Everyday Spirituality

Attention! Attention Please!

Did my title get your attention? I hope it did, because I’d like to say a few words about attention today.

First your ability to pay attention is one of your greatest gifts. To be able to focus on another person, a story, or a specific task at hand is an important asset we sometimes take for granted. Ask teachers who work with children with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). Their teachers will tell you that these children often struggle to pay attention even for a few minutes.

Secondly, notice how in English we say pay attention. There’s always a cost involved

The photographer was paying attention to the waterlilies...
The photographer who took this photo was paying attention to the waterlilies…

in paying attention. It means if we give our full attention to this thing, then we can’t be paying attention to that thing. Paying attention entails self-discipline. Just watch baseball players at bat, how they are totally focused on seeing the ball. They don’t allow anything (a heckling fan, a sudden gust of wind, a yell from the opposing team’s dugout) to distract them from the one thing they are paying attention to: that baseball being thrown at them.

Thirdly, there are countless things vying for our attention every minute of every day. Television advertisers know this. That’s why they go to great lengths just to get our attention and then they try to keep our attention for 30 seconds or so. Why such great pains? Because they’re trying to get us to buy their product, vote for their candidate, or support their cause. In order to do this, they have devised ingenious ways to get our attention. They use cute children, talking lizards, quacking ducks, beautiful scenery, or catchy music. If that fails, then they SHOUT AT US!!! (God bless the person who invented the mute button!)

What does paying attention have to do with our Christian faith? A lot! In one way we can say that Jesus came to focus our attention on the important aspects of life such as prayer, loving relationships, personal integrity, compassion, forgiveness, trust in God. How often he said to his disciples and to the crowds, “Behold!” That’s simply another way of saying, “Pay attention!” Pay attention to the lilies of the fields and the birds of the air. Pay attention to this story I am about to tell you. Pay attention to the poor, the sick, and the marginalized among you.

The artist Julie Cameron said that paying attention “is an act of love, an act of connection.” Many great writers, she says, lived ordinary and limited lives. “What was unlimited was the quality of attention they brought to bear on their experience.” The French writer, Simone Weil, would agree. She wrote: “If one looks long enough at almost anything, looks with absolute attention at a flower, a stone, the bark of a tree, grass, snow, a cloud, then something like revelation takes place.”

Who needs our attention today?
Who needs our attention today?

Today might be a good day to pay attention to what you pay attention to. If you’re reading this blog, for example, then you decided to pay attention to this blog. Why? Other questions for reflection might be these:

+ Do you pay attention to the beauty and wonders of creation?

+ Do you pay attention to the poor, sick, and marginalized among us?

+ Do you pay attention only to peoples’ shortcomings, or do you notice their good points too?

+ Do you pay attention only to what’s wrong in the world or in your personal life, or do you pay attention to what’s right and good?

+ Do you pay attention regularly to God in prayer?

Jose Ortega y Gassel said this about paying attention: “Tell me what you pay attention to, and I will tell you who you are.” Now, that’s something to pay attention to!

Today’s song is “And All the People Said Amen” by Matt Maher. The video shows several individuals paying attention to others…

What are your thoughts on this topic and/or this song?

PS: I wrote this reflection before the tragic events in Minnesota, Dallas, and elsewhere in the U.S. Let us pray for the victims and their loved ones. And let us pay attention to the underlying causes of this unrest and violence, asking God for peace—in our own hearts, our families, our neighborhoods, our countries, our world.

11 Responses

  1. Paying attention to the good helpa you to learn what bad you should recognize not to be paying attention to.

  2. Good one Sr. Melannie.

    Yesterday, I noticed a robin’s nest in the eve of our porch during my meditation time. Paying attention to the robin feeding her young was such a blessing. I felt God’s presence even more.

    Kathleen

  3. I have always had a problem paying attention, but when I called on the Holy Spirit, he would ALWAYS bring me back. I am not distracted by some of the things you mentioned, but as Sr Chris said, I too have a “monkey mind” that never stops, just swings from one thought to another. I do thank God for helping me to truly concentrate on what is important. Thank you for this enlightening article.

  4. Thanks Melannie for your reflections. As one on the staff of our novitiate I have been able to use your insights and a starting point for deeper conversations. thanks and have an enjoyable summer.

  5. Thank you Sister Melanie!
    At age 77 I have a gift of remembering things of the past in detail and
    being able to know the year in which they occurred.
    Perhaps it is not a gift after all; maybe I paid attention.
    Short term memory loss now is my special cross to carry.

  6. Paying attention helps us get outside of ourselves. focusing on Creation helps bring me closer to God and fills me with awe and gratitude. Focusing on people enables me to to see their gifts and their needs . Otherwise I’m likely to pay attention to my wants or problems. Thanks for the message. It came at a good time for me since we just moved last Tuesday and I need to come out of my tunnel vision.

  7. Paying attention is so very important! But so very hard to do! Your blog has reminded me how important it is to work on and develop this virtue in our daily lives.

  8. I thought it was significant that the homilist at last Sunday’s Jubilee Mass at Notre Dame, Chardon, rewrote his homily to include last week’s national problems, lest our local celebration distract us from the reality of the world around us. He tied the two together beautifully, pointing out that religious women are often the first responders to the crises of others.

  9. The gospel message from last Sunday was, “Who is my neighbor”? I thought this song brought that message full circle. I am neighbor to anyone I pay attention too. Anyone who pays attention to me is being neighbor to me. God bless all the neighbors in our lives.

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Meet Sr. Melannie

Hi and welcome to my blog! I’m Sister Melannie, a Sister of Notre Dame residing in Chardon, Ohio, USA. I’ve been very lucky! I was raised in a loving family on a small farm in northeast Ohio. I also entered the SNDs right after high school. Over the years, my ministries have included high school and college teaching, novice director, congregational leadership, spiritual direction, retreat facilitating, and writing. I hope you enjoy “Sunflower Seeds” and will consider subscribing below. I’d love to have you in our “sunflower community.” Thank you!

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