What's your attention budget like?

A dragonfly,

perched atop a cane

wings held still,

is she meditating?

Am I?

This tiny poem is from a set that I am writing for an illustrated book of tiny poems, to be released in October. I am inspired by the Haiku poems of Japanese Buddhist monks. Their poems capture a snapshot of the present moment in a few words as an exercise in mindfulness. I love that writing such poems makes you pay attention to the world around you.

Also, such poetry is a celebration of tiny moments in everyday life. And learning to pay attention to the present moment is the secret to everlasting joy.

Creativity and attention

Talking about attention, Julia Cameron says that art is an act of paying attention. And I have found this to be true, creative acts require observing our inner world or the outer world closely or intermingling the two.

Like in the poem above, where I observe a dragonfly on a cane while thinking on meditation.

But our attention is a precious resource. I think it was Kate Murphy who wrote that we have a limited “Attention budget”. I would add that some activities deplete the attention budget very quickly while some activities replenish the budget.

For example, reading the news and scrolling endlessly through social media depletes my attention budget very quickly while observing nature and small everyday moments make my attention wallet fatter. The more mindful I am, the more attention I have for other things.

So if you want more space in your life, try to prune out things that you don't find valuable and which ask for too much attention. For example, a big one in my life has been - not buying a TV.

We do watch movies on the laptop every weekend, but generally, avoid watching series. Mainly because they are a time and attention sink, and they make me feel like there's no time left in life (when I am binge-watching). Not having a TV and avoiding watching series frees up a lot of attention budget for other things, like poetry, art, exercise, learning a new language …

So here's a provocative question for you: What is one activity where you spend your attention but which doesn't add to your life? Can you prune it?

Don't worry if you are not ready to do any pruning. The first step is awareness. Then you can prepare yourself by expressing a willingness - "I am willing to let go of/stop/......" and just try that for some time, and see where that leads you.

Thank you and till later!

Beant