Focus

Lately, I have been learning a lot about focus. Let me start by telling you exactly what focus is. Focus is learning how to keep getting joy from the same stuff after a long period of time. I don’t know about anyone else, but sometimes I will pick up a new and exciting thing, ride the excitement of having a new thing, then go find something else when the freshness wears off. There’s nothing wrong with getting excited about something new, but there’s something deeper and far more beautiful about learning how to dig in and stay happy with something old.

Part of that is because this doesn’t come naturally to us. It’s so much easier to abandon everything when the excitement isn’t naturally flowing off the surface and into our open arms. Deeper joy comes with a bit of effort. It takes biting into something, it takes searching for it, exploring it. It takes putting in a little of your precious energy for it. But the joy that comes with depth is far greater than scratching the surface. We just need to train ourselves for it. 

But the scary part is that sometimes developing that sense of focus means turning down a shallower joy that’s right in front of you. It may be way cooler to get a six pack, but that Snickers bar might be right in front of you when you’re hungry as heck. Focus can mean that you say no to a little happiness right now and that can be hard. It can make us really tired. More tired than we might be aware of. And when life is hard already, why bother? Or maybe the better question is how can we bother? Those are good, real questions. 

I think the answer is faith. That’s another theme that I have been circling around lately. Faith is living in the joy like something has happened way before it has. C.S. Lewis described it well in Mere Christianity. I can’t find the exact quote, but he talks about how we already know that cars typically stop at stop signs, but this knowledge isn’t faith until we hop out in front of one with a car approaching. We choose to do something about that knowledge in that moment, making what we know a little more real. 

Except, sometimes it isn’t that instantaneous. Sometimes we resist the candy bar, but don’t see immediate results. That can be hard. It can be hard to see the subtle changes over time. For example, I have been at this new job for six months now. Deep down, there’s a peace in me. I know I’m in the right field. But my day-to-day life can be tough. It can rattle and shake me sometimes. And it can be easy to forget that deep comfort that I have, or what it was like not to have it. I guess I know how the Israelites felt coming out of the desert. Sometimes I forget that I was in a far worse place before. 

That’s why I try to stop and make lists of all the good stuff. Especially all the good stuff that I once didn’t have. Better yet- I try to list the stuff that I willingly gave up to get where I am right now. I wouldn’t trade my sense of security for the world, and knowing I’m on a path that’s as wide-open as the mountain ranges of my beautiful Colorado makes it all the sweeter!

So take some time today to celebrate what you have. And don’t tell me you have nothing. That’s a bold-faced lie, and you know it! And wherever you are, make sure you take some time to get inspired, whatever that means for you. 

I pray that focus and faith find you this day, leading you back to the God that made you.

Until Next Time

May Peace be your Guide.