Where’s Your Focus?

There is so much sorrow in the world. It’s easy for me to focus all of my attention on everything going wrong–the seemingly never-ending rain, the end of my job, the present size of my butt vs. the size I would like it to be. When I focus on what I lack, I create more of what I lack.

Instead, I have decided to turn my attention to all that’s really right, even if only for five minutes every single day, knowing that my life will change in direct proportion to that focused attention.

Perhaps you think it’s logically unsound to talk about everything that’s great when there’s a war going on, a sad homeless man sleeping under the bridge near my parking garage and The Oprah Winfrey Show has come to a close. But is it really insightful or relevant to send another tweet or Facebook status update with all the little complaints and woes that fill up a day? All of my criticisms of the way things are won’t make the world a better place. Thinking about what’s good, or to be more accurate, what’s true and taking action will do more for my life and the life of everyone around me. And, if that’s what I really think, then I have no other choice than to lead the way.

For me, it’s the sound of my fingers tapping away on my keyboard while the thunder rumbles and the rain softly hits the glass-paned wall of my apartment. A cold glass of iced green tea waiting for me after I finished taking my first nap in almost three years. It’s the excitement I feel for all of the possibilities ahead of me like the poet Gil Scott-Heron sings, everything is new again. It’s the memory of last night’s amazing conversation with my friend who works across the street from where I live and the view from her office’s 42nd floor. We both look out at the same park every day, but we each have a different perspective. Just as you and I look out on the same world every day, it’s only a matter of where we choose to put our focus.