Each era gets a moniker, and this era might be best known as the Age of Distraction. Distractions are the one thing that seemingly everyone is grappling with (and hating themselves for). So I was pleased to see What Monks Can Teach Us About Paying Attention
I was trying to parse out some similar ideas a while back, and was thinking about distraction vs. attraction. And how we are often DIStracted by things we ATtracted to. Like those "divine gifts" you mention...
Well, I feel vindicated, thank you very much. And thank you for knowing what's going on inside my head, scary as that may be. The voice in my head that presses me to be more focused is not a kind voice and does not seem to understand creativity (for me) comes through distractions. For example, I'm supposed to be cleaning the house right now. Instead, I'm reading your blog. You, Grant, are a genius of a distraction and one that brings me joy. Permission to be me GRANTed.
What I’ve found as I open myself up to noticing the distractions is that they all speak to each other in a very focused, wholistic way. The lightning hits the Duomo in Florence... the lightning painted on the shoes of the man I am struck to photograph in the street... I think the point is paying attention. What I love about my beloved ADHD friends is their capacity to notice everything.
There is nobody else I would want protecting my tent at night.
Amen! Don't fight your brain-type. Work with it. Figure it out. Fan it. Contour it. Adapt to it. Work around it. Know that it is your engine for your unique brand of creativity. Otherwise, if you fight it, you will just lose and get frustrated and have one more thing to beat yourself up over. There are plenty of things in life to criticize yourself over, you don't need another. Attention, the ability to pay attention for long periods, is WAY overrated.
I was trying to parse out some similar ideas a while back, and was thinking about distraction vs. attraction. And how we are often DIStracted by things we ATtracted to. Like those "divine gifts" you mention...
Well, I feel vindicated, thank you very much. And thank you for knowing what's going on inside my head, scary as that may be. The voice in my head that presses me to be more focused is not a kind voice and does not seem to understand creativity (for me) comes through distractions. For example, I'm supposed to be cleaning the house right now. Instead, I'm reading your blog. You, Grant, are a genius of a distraction and one that brings me joy. Permission to be me GRANTed.
What I’ve found as I open myself up to noticing the distractions is that they all speak to each other in a very focused, wholistic way. The lightning hits the Duomo in Florence... the lightning painted on the shoes of the man I am struck to photograph in the street... I think the point is paying attention. What I love about my beloved ADHD friends is their capacity to notice everything.
There is nobody else I would want protecting my tent at night.
Amen! Don't fight your brain-type. Work with it. Figure it out. Fan it. Contour it. Adapt to it. Work around it. Know that it is your engine for your unique brand of creativity. Otherwise, if you fight it, you will just lose and get frustrated and have one more thing to beat yourself up over. There are plenty of things in life to criticize yourself over, you don't need another. Attention, the ability to pay attention for long periods, is WAY overrated.