attention is the gift of undivided love,
effortlessly giving as it was given
attention yields discernment
which is to see clearly
what is
and on that basis
to separate the true from the false
discernment yields detachment –
detachment from outcomes and goals,
from having and not having –
detachment from the false –
detachment in turn
yields right action
which has as its essence
order and compassion
which are only possible
when one relinquishes
fear of reprisal
and hope of reward
consider the front yard maple –
in summer it accepts all the light
the moon offers,
and in winter all the snow
that will settle on its limbs
it asks for nothing,
takes only what is given,
and clings to nothing which passes
in this way
the truth reveals itself,
reestablishing as whole
what so long believed it was broken
This helps me. To aim to give my undivided attention can sound like a chore, but to see it as giving my undivided love, that make me want to give attention more often.
:o)
Hazel.
I’m glad it’s helpful, Hazel. It’s interesting to note sometimes that we are always giving attention anyway – it just happens of its own accord. In a sense, we are just ceasing what the course calls “mind wandering,” and allowing ourselves to experience what it means to be attentive. There really is nothing to do – attention just is!
Yes. I love the Course lesson, “I need do nothing.”
When I am not “mind wandering,” and not judging, I guess I am, as Byron Katie would put it, “loving what is.” There is stillness and peace.
I keep remembering the phrase from Jonathon Livingstone Seagull, where he realises he is “a perfect, unlimited idea of freedom.”
Hazel.