381. Anxious Attention

You see a flash of movement somewhere in your field of vision. It’s quickly followed by another flash and then another. Something is happening and it has grabbed your attention. Rapid movements suggest the possibility of a threat that could potentially bring harm.

If this possibility were sustained over time, it would be natural to start thinking about how it might hamper your desires, activate your aversions, or contradict your beliefs. You would be concerned that the new thing could impact your life in some meaningful way. And because the potential for harm feels real, you might also believe you should continue to pay attention. Worry pushes you to gather more information and figure out what’s happening.

But there is a difference between seeing something clearly and being distracted by it. For if you realized that the flashes of movement were produced by nothing other than a circling fly, then obviously there would be no point in paying attention to the random shifts in its flight path.

To see clearly is to grasp the reality of your present situation and understand what must be done in response. But such a response cannot include holding your full attention on mere flashes of movement. If you did this, you would be too distracted to see what must be done to alleviate harm and meet the needs of yourself and others.

Seeing everything does not mean seeing every last detail of it. Details can easily become distractions, especially if you become preoccupied with tracking every last change when the changes are insignificant. If you’re already broadly aware of the present situation, then perpetually monitoring it can do nothing to help.

Instead of being distracted by trivialities, you need to allow your focus to return to those creative and compassionate actions that are the solutions to the real problems you face. It is only through the application of immense creativity and unyielding compassion that it becomes possible to address the real sources of harm.