Some things are right there in front of you, and completely invisible. “Plain as day,” we say, or, “You can’t miss it.” “It’s right under your nose,” and, “Plain as the nose on your face.” When we just can not conceive of a person missing something obvious, we ask, “What?! Are you blind?”
Well; actually, yes, sort of.
The problem with the nose on my face (OK, as long as we’re talking about the obvious, I’ll admit there might be more than one problem) is that it is only obvious to you. Yes, my chin too is “right under my nose”. Invisible. To me. When my wife complains because I can’t find the butter in the refrigerator, she’ll encourage me with “it’s right in front of you”. Of course it is. So is the wall behind the fridge, and the vegetable garden behind that. That’s the problem. Half the universe is “right in front of me.” In fact, there’s a fifty-fifty chance that the cow the butter came from is in “front of me”. “Oh,” you say, “but the wall behind the refrigerator is not keeping you from locating the butter.” Fair enough. Still, I can find the wall with my eyes closed, or my back turned, and I can see a hundred things that aren’t butter. It’s the butter I need, and “I don’t see it!”
Getting the thing you’re looking for, in front of you, is only one step in a multi-step process. It’s an important step in that you’ve just diverted your attention from half the universe. Job well done. There is still a great deal to distract you from what you need to see at this particular moment. The difficulty, it seems to me, is in not being able to not see everything that is not butter. Got it? Sometimes there is just too much that is obvious, and then of course, nothing is obvious.
You’ve got to focus. And this is a mental discipline. No doubt, more difficult for one person than for another. The degree to which it is nature or nurture, I cannot explain. I expect that there are serious scientists working on this as we speak. I hope that they can offer meaningful help. In the meanwhile, “It doesn’t have to be your fault to be your problem.”
I suppose then, step one is decide what it is you’re looking for, step two is, get the thing you’re looking for in front of you, and step three is; focus on the thing you are looking for.
Refuse, on purpose, to see other things. Once I’ve determined it’s butter I am looking for, I need to open the refrigerator door with all my focus on “butter” and everything that is not butter must be as “the nose on my face”. Right in front of me, and invisible. It’s a skill. Some appear to have a natural aptitude for attention. The rest of us have to work at it.
A great place to practice this skill is in school. Try this:
Step One - Before you walk into any classroom, determine why you are there. The fact that you are compelled to go, or that “science” is not the most important thing in your life, is a distraction. We are all compelled to do many things. Of course, science is not the most important thing in your life. It is not the most important thing in my life. There are plenty of times when we ought to be doing things that are more important. And, we do. You will spend a very small percentage of your life in this or that classroom. It would be foolish not to gain what you can from that time.
Step Two - Get the thing you’re looking for in front of you. Duh. George MacDonald said, “He who listens with his back turned, receives but half the help.” Continually face, with your face and your eyes and your shoulders and your knees, in the direction that the instruction is coming from. That will eliminate half the distractions of the universe. So far, so good. Don’t stop there.
Step Three - Focus. This is mostly mental and the most difficult part. With serious practice, you’ll get seriously better. A half-hearted attempt makes for imperceptible progress which is always discouraging, and usually leads to despair. If the topic of the day is “The Rock Cycle,” then rocks will be the stone on which you hone your mind. If it’s not a rock, it’s invisible to you. Talk about rocks. Really. Hear, with your ears, your mouth, say something about rocks. Try it. It will strengthen your focus. Write about rocks. Listen about rocks. Read about rocks. Look around for rocks. Remember an experience with rocks. Touch a rock. Draw a rock. Later, when you are doing something that is more important to you, you can admit that rocks bore you. During class, that is a distraction and must remain invisible.
Here is a money-back guarantee. The effort I describe will get you a better grade on the rock quiz, and long after you’ve forgotten the rock cycle, you’ll own a priceless skill that will serve you well as you tend to important things. And; some of you will discover that rocks are fascinating. It may even become obvious.
Well; actually, yes, sort of.
The problem with the nose on my face (OK, as long as we’re talking about the obvious, I’ll admit there might be more than one problem) is that it is only obvious to you. Yes, my chin too is “right under my nose”. Invisible. To me. When my wife complains because I can’t find the butter in the refrigerator, she’ll encourage me with “it’s right in front of you”. Of course it is. So is the wall behind the fridge, and the vegetable garden behind that. That’s the problem. Half the universe is “right in front of me.” In fact, there’s a fifty-fifty chance that the cow the butter came from is in “front of me”. “Oh,” you say, “but the wall behind the refrigerator is not keeping you from locating the butter.” Fair enough. Still, I can find the wall with my eyes closed, or my back turned, and I can see a hundred things that aren’t butter. It’s the butter I need, and “I don’t see it!”
Getting the thing you’re looking for, in front of you, is only one step in a multi-step process. It’s an important step in that you’ve just diverted your attention from half the universe. Job well done. There is still a great deal to distract you from what you need to see at this particular moment. The difficulty, it seems to me, is in not being able to not see everything that is not butter. Got it? Sometimes there is just too much that is obvious, and then of course, nothing is obvious.
You’ve got to focus. And this is a mental discipline. No doubt, more difficult for one person than for another. The degree to which it is nature or nurture, I cannot explain. I expect that there are serious scientists working on this as we speak. I hope that they can offer meaningful help. In the meanwhile, “It doesn’t have to be your fault to be your problem.”
I suppose then, step one is decide what it is you’re looking for, step two is, get the thing you’re looking for in front of you, and step three is; focus on the thing you are looking for.
Refuse, on purpose, to see other things. Once I’ve determined it’s butter I am looking for, I need to open the refrigerator door with all my focus on “butter” and everything that is not butter must be as “the nose on my face”. Right in front of me, and invisible. It’s a skill. Some appear to have a natural aptitude for attention. The rest of us have to work at it.
A great place to practice this skill is in school. Try this:
Step One - Before you walk into any classroom, determine why you are there. The fact that you are compelled to go, or that “science” is not the most important thing in your life, is a distraction. We are all compelled to do many things. Of course, science is not the most important thing in your life. It is not the most important thing in my life. There are plenty of times when we ought to be doing things that are more important. And, we do. You will spend a very small percentage of your life in this or that classroom. It would be foolish not to gain what you can from that time.
Step Two - Get the thing you’re looking for in front of you. Duh. George MacDonald said, “He who listens with his back turned, receives but half the help.” Continually face, with your face and your eyes and your shoulders and your knees, in the direction that the instruction is coming from. That will eliminate half the distractions of the universe. So far, so good. Don’t stop there.
Step Three - Focus. This is mostly mental and the most difficult part. With serious practice, you’ll get seriously better. A half-hearted attempt makes for imperceptible progress which is always discouraging, and usually leads to despair. If the topic of the day is “The Rock Cycle,” then rocks will be the stone on which you hone your mind. If it’s not a rock, it’s invisible to you. Talk about rocks. Really. Hear, with your ears, your mouth, say something about rocks. Try it. It will strengthen your focus. Write about rocks. Listen about rocks. Read about rocks. Look around for rocks. Remember an experience with rocks. Touch a rock. Draw a rock. Later, when you are doing something that is more important to you, you can admit that rocks bore you. During class, that is a distraction and must remain invisible.
Here is a money-back guarantee. The effort I describe will get you a better grade on the rock quiz, and long after you’ve forgotten the rock cycle, you’ll own a priceless skill that will serve you well as you tend to important things. And; some of you will discover that rocks are fascinating. It may even become obvious.