Attention Dividends -#37

I am strangely addicted to the frustration Bob Klein’s* comments engender in me.

Bob, a Tai Chi Master and Taoist from Sound Beach, NY,  challenges me. Here’s what he said about Post #36: 

Dear Nicky,

My mother was suspicious of fairy tales. My farm girl feet were grounded in rich black soil. Facts made up the bulk of our everyday language. Questions like Bob’s elicited derision in our household and still have a place in my psyche: “No, I can’t. I live in a town home, I don’t have a garden.”

Luckily this no-nonsense part of me is no longer all there is. Now there are other parts; parts that compare verses in three translations of the Tao Te Ching.** Granted, some of the old planted-in-facts parts still wrinkle up their noses when meaning isn’t immediately apparent. 

When my intuition is allowed to morph into feelings, these parts can begin to express themselves with conviction: “Bob is pointing out my experience happened because I was paying attention, not because of the exotic location.” 

Tuesday, while on my walk, my attention was captured by two pair of round deer eyes.  Both sets of brown eyes looked intently into my brown eyes. There was no blinking. There was only stillness.  Previous feelings of disappointment, in myself for not being fully present during a session with a very anxious client earlier that day, began to drain away.

Yesterday on my walk, my eyes were drawn to a particular tree. Did I see a Great Horned Owl perched there?  My eyes aren’t the best so there was no way of knowing for sure. I stood there. Whatever it was blended into the tree bark. As if hearing my inquiry the creature opened its wings, swooped to the next tree, and in doing so, decisively identified as an owl.

Today my husband called my attention to a big lump on the front lawn – maybe a pile of leaves? As we silently inched closer, we observed movement. It was a Turkey Vulture! We watched it waddle around and as we stood watching, it opened its nearly six foot wings and swooped into the nearby trees. 

Paying attention in Nature provides many gifts.

Where are you paying attention? What are you seeing or hearing or smelling or touching that you would miss without the factor of paying attention being present? Does attention bring things to us? How important is the factor of attention in our lives? Please use the comment box to let me/us know of your findings.

If I continue to pay attention, tomorrow I may see smiling Zen Priests in my Zen Garden.

*You can learn more about Bob Klein by visiting his website: www.movementsofmagic.com.

**You will be hearing more about these translations in future posts.

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As always, thank you for being with me to explore the mystery.
– Nicky Mendenhall