How Do I Live?
"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." Annie Dillard
Lately I have been ruminating on the question, “How do I want to live my life?”
This question is indelibly linked to the question, “How do I want to spend my time?” In her book The Writing Life, Annie Dillard aptly states, “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” What we do with this hour, is what we do with this day.
This is a question that, the older I get, the more I focus on. What do I do with the limited time I have in this life? What do I give my attention to? When you give your attention wholly to something, you are giving it meaning, you are stating this is precious to me. So what is of lasting value that I want to devote my time and attention to something or someone?
The contemplative practice of attention is a spiritual act
Simone Weil believed that attention was a way towards transformation. She understood that unmixed attention was “the rarest and purest form of generosity” and equated it to prayer. Attention is the highest form of grace.
William James described attention as “taking possession by the mind, in clear and vivid form, of one out of what seem several simultaneously possible objects or trains of thought. Focalization, concentration, of consciousness is of its essence. It implies withdrawal from some things in order to deal effectively with others.” I find I am withdrawing from some things (social media being one of them) to focus more on those which really matter to me in my life.
