What receives your attention
My experience is what I agree to attend to.
William James
The Principles of Psychology, Volume I · Chapter XI, “Attention,” p. 402
Original English. 1890; linked 1918 printing. Original English; emphasis in the source is not reproduced.
A day contains far more than anyone can notice. James points to attention as one of the forces that turns that abundance into a particular experience. The meeting's mistake may occupy the mind while a thoughtful gesture disappears from memory. That does not mean attention controls reality, or that painful circumstances should be ignored. It means that what repeatedly receives attention gains weight in our understanding of life. The practical question is whether that selection is deliberate or merely habitual. For a few minutes today, attention might be given to a person, a task, or an ordinary detail usually passed over.
A question for today
What deserves attention that it has not been receiving?
