Pay Attention

As a kid, I wanted to be able to draw more than I wanted anything in the world (almost). And I tried, I really did. No go. It seemed I lacked the eye-hand coordination necessary to create art.

Eventually, I learned it was not a failure of eye-hand coordination, it was a failure of observation. I draw now. Slowly. Imperfectly. But I draw. I compare textures, see how lines intersect, watch where shadows fall. And I draw.

Once upon a time, I thought writing was about organizing words. It turns out that writing is about listening.

Yesterday I received a batch of Bible stories to edit. As written, the stories were stiff and boring, and I was worried about whether I could do anything to really fix them. The stories ran through my head all night. Just before dawn, I heard the first story, heard it in words that would draw in a 4th grader. When I opened my laptop later, all I had to do was type.

The key to drawing, the key to writing turns out to be the same: pay attention. I'm pretty sure it's one of the keys to life, too.

The more I observe my life, the more grateful I become. The more I recognize other people, the more compassionate I become. The more I absorb the natural world, the more passionate I become about it.

Life, our lives, all life. Such miracles. When I stop noticing those miracles, I slide into the darkness. As long as I pay attention, I'm pretty much forced to see the light all around me.