Attention, Intention and Action - Why are you here?
I think I'm going through something. It seems to me that there is so much opportunity to love, help, share and encourage people. My thoughts are on these things much lately.
Yesterday I was chatting with a co-worker, Paul, about some of the things in my life lately. We've worked together for over 17 years now. It's been fun getting to know him and follow along with his passions over the years. We have great conversations where we encourage each other.
During this conversation Paul mentioned "Attention, Intention and Action". I know there are probably many writings about this that I could dive into and maybe I will, but for now I've just dwelled on the thoughts that stir in my mind when I think about those three words. Attention. Intention. Action.
What do you think about?
What occupies your mind? The things that you focus on are those things that get your attention. Have you ever noticed that the more you think about something, the more of a reality it becomes? If you focus on things that you are grateful for you become more grateful. If you focus on fear you become more fearful. The positive and negative affects of your thoughts are real.
A few years ago I was camping with my kids. Our campsite was beautiful, right on the water. Right around the bend from us on the lake was a rock cliff where people were jumping into the water. Let me tell you now that I don't like propelling myself into space. My feet feel best when firmly planted on the ground. To make a long terrifying story short and meaningful... My boys convinced me to jump from that rock into the water.
While I was standing on that rock looking down into that dark water all I could think about was slipping, cracking my head open, crashing on submerged rocks... all the negative stuff. I was terrified. My boys were laughing, jumping, smiling and having a good time.
What was the difference between them and myself? It was our thoughts. They were thinking of enjoying life and I was thinking of preserving my life by my own fears. Some would say I was wise, but my boys taught me that day to let go a little.
My attention to my fear was not healthy at that moment. Is it ever?
Where do you put your energy?
How much do you invest emotionally into your thoughts? I figure if our thoughts are where we are putting our attention, then the energy we put into them becomes our intention.
When I'm thinking deeply about something it normally develops into something that I intend to do or act on. The challenge is to keep the intentions good. We can slip into selfish or negative intentions easily by our human nature. As we live focused on positive things we can more easily keep our motivations / intentions pure.
What does that make you do?
Action. That one has been a big challenge for me in my life. It's easy for me to dream good dreams and even to put some emotional energy into those dreams, but taking positive action is work. There is effort into making attentive, intentional actions. Our life is a series of choices. Some of them we make with little thought based on our culture and experience. It just happens. But then there are occasions where we have to think beyond our normal and be intentional with our actions.
If you are following along with my story here on Steemit you know that I'm working on a little fund raiser to help @amaponian work to put tires on the family vehicle and to feed his family in Venezuela. I'm excited about the possibilities here.
This action started with me paying attention to someone else. Once I started to understand the story of another human being it started to tug on my heart. This started to focus my emotional energy. There I was left with a choice... move along with my happy little life or try to invest in someone else.
There is no guilt here. No preaching. This is just my current reality on this journey. As I learn more about @amaponian and how he is being a good steward of his resources I'm impressed. It feels good to think beyond myself. With the right attention, intention and action I can be a part of this family's story. If you feel motivated at this point to help please read the fundraiser post to discover ways you can help as well.
Thank you for being here with me. I'm grateful for all of you who share your stories here. This post doesn't represent a destination, but only a little piece of my journey.
None of us can know and help EVERYBODY, but we all have an opportunity to know and help SOMEBODY.
Love Much!
Oh My Goodness he has delved off into the deep today! Sharing for others to chime in...
I’ve noticed my thoughts have been making a shift lately. I’ve been feeling the tug to refocus my attention on my faith and not to worry so much about what’s going on in the world. For awhile there, fear was driving me to do anything I could to take back control. Everywhere one looks, they will read that such and such is bad for you, all these businesses and industries and the government is doing atrocious things. Do a little research on any of these topics, and next thing you know, you’ve spent hours down a rabbit trail. I finally reached a point where I realized that we live in a broken world that we simply can’t fix, and above all, our Father is bigger than all these issues anyways. I’m starting to let go of fear and start listening to the convictions the Spirit gives me. You’re right when you say the positive and negative affects of your thoughts are real. I have noticed a difference already.
Beautiful message that makes me think about my attention, intention and action.
It is always a good idea to help others, and more if the something that comes from the heart.
How good it is to know this story up close.
thanks for sharing
@amaponian entiendo perfectamente tu situación, porque también soy venezolana. Descubrir Steemit fue una bendición, apenas tengo poco más de un mes. Estoy desempleada, así que estoy considerando esta plataforma como una alternativa para lograr ingresos. Lo poco que he ganado ya sabes para qué lo utilizo: ¡Comprar alimentos! No puedo enviarte mucho, sé que me entiendes. Abrazos y fortaleza!
Many times, we stop enjoying life by having negative thoughts. While it is true that we must take care of certain things, it is no less true that life consists of simple and even tiny things that are what truly give us happiness. We must deal with the difficult without this robbing us of peace and joy. Children are happier because they think less about complications and enjoy more than life gives them. Thank you for these lines, we must have a more positive and less complicated attitude towards life and thank you for the work you carry out day by day to help many people in need. A big hug, I keep reading from Venezuela.
It's nice to know that there are still people in the world, people with an excellent heart, who look beyond themselves. In Venezuela, the situation is even more difficult than people can imagine. Thanks again for worrying about a family that needs it. Again, a big hug!