"I like to envision myself having an impact on the world. Rarely do I admit how much of an impact the world has on me."
It's worth listening to the recording of David Foster Wallace giving the commencement speech of "This Is Water." It's only 22 min. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCbGM4mqEVw
That quote from DFW’s speech has always stuck with me. It calls you both to question what you worship and to choose what you worship.
I don’t worship a god, and I regularly remind myself of the danger of that position. Without God, I could easily slip into worshiping some unworthy, worldly thing. Instead, I must direct my attention toward a worthy, unattainable ideal. For me, it’s some combination of Truth, Justice, and Detachment.
All your examples of what is normal are potent; they reveal the contradiction between our values and the objects of our attention. The same way attention shapes an individual, collective attention shapes a society.
My friend I missed you this past month. It made my day to read this piece.
Your imagery and charge drew me back to Ecclesiastes especially this scene:
All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full.
To the place the streams come from, there they return again.
Perhaps this is why the Epistle from James says this as well:
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their affliction and to keeps oneself from being polluted by the world.
Beautiful piece. Your observations regarding attention call to mind Simone Weil, who made a similar case in her essay 'The Right Use of School Studies' (I would strongly recommend you read it in its entirety). This is how her piece begins:
'The key to a Christian conception of studies is the realisation that prayer consists of attention. It is the orientation of all the attention of which the soul is capable toward God. The quality of attention counts for much in the quality of the prayer. Warmth of heart cannot make up for it.
It is the highest part of the attention only which makes contact with God, when prayer is intense and pure enough for such a contact to be established; but the whole attention is turned towards God.
Of course school exercises only develop a lower kind of attention. Nevertheless, they are extremely effective in increasing the power of attention that will be available at the time of prayer, on condition that they are carried out with a view to this purpose and this purpose alone.'
"Our awareness and attention are more than just currency. They’re our fate." Love this line. I believe that awareness is the first practice in the art of life, and the notion that awareness is destiny resonates deeply.
This is a show-stopper.
"I like to envision myself having an impact on the world. Rarely do I admit how much of an impact the world has on me."
It's worth listening to the recording of David Foster Wallace giving the commencement speech of "This Is Water." It's only 22 min. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCbGM4mqEVw
Making me question what I worship. Thank you.
“Our attention is sacred. It’s an act of worship in itself. An act of spiritual, mental, and emotional formation.”
Grace, you writing and perspective deserves everyone’s attention.
You are a hallmark of your message. I’m going to read this to my kids now. 👏🙏
That quote from DFW’s speech has always stuck with me. It calls you both to question what you worship and to choose what you worship.
I don’t worship a god, and I regularly remind myself of the danger of that position. Without God, I could easily slip into worshiping some unworthy, worldly thing. Instead, I must direct my attention toward a worthy, unattainable ideal. For me, it’s some combination of Truth, Justice, and Detachment.
All your examples of what is normal are potent; they reveal the contradiction between our values and the objects of our attention. The same way attention shapes an individual, collective attention shapes a society.
Thanks for sharing this, Grace, well done!
She. Be. Back.
My friend I missed you this past month. It made my day to read this piece.
Your imagery and charge drew me back to Ecclesiastes especially this scene:
All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full.
To the place the streams come from, there they return again.
Perhaps this is why the Epistle from James says this as well:
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their affliction and to keeps oneself from being polluted by the world.
Damn. What a beautiful and important reflection Grace. So much wisdom in here.
Beautiful piece. Your observations regarding attention call to mind Simone Weil, who made a similar case in her essay 'The Right Use of School Studies' (I would strongly recommend you read it in its entirety). This is how her piece begins:
'The key to a Christian conception of studies is the realisation that prayer consists of attention. It is the orientation of all the attention of which the soul is capable toward God. The quality of attention counts for much in the quality of the prayer. Warmth of heart cannot make up for it.
It is the highest part of the attention only which makes contact with God, when prayer is intense and pure enough for such a contact to be established; but the whole attention is turned towards God.
Of course school exercises only develop a lower kind of attention. Nevertheless, they are extremely effective in increasing the power of attention that will be available at the time of prayer, on condition that they are carried out with a view to this purpose and this purpose alone.'
Love this essay Grace. Superb.
Loved this one Grace. Glad I paid attention :)
A wonderful call to presence, Grace. You were able to tackle a big topic and reduce it to something beautiful and useful.
This line made me both chuckle and think: "I swallow all of this information alongside my Ollipop on my lunch break. This is normal.
And I have the audacity to think these things aren’t forming me."
"Our awareness and attention are more than just currency. They’re our fate." Love this line. I believe that awareness is the first practice in the art of life, and the notion that awareness is destiny resonates deeply.