When my cat spots a rabbit in the backyard, he devotes his eyes, all his muscles, and every paw-step to his prey. My ability to pay attention is much less impressive than the cat’s. “Where did I put my glasses?” “Have you seen my car keys?” “Why did I reach into the refrigerator? Oh, now I remember. It was the microwave I was aiming for.” 

All of these questions were good reasons for signing up last year for an on-line, month-long class called “Working with Your Attention.” The leader of the course, Gregg Krech of the ToDo Institute says, “For many of us, our lives are immersed in potential distractions.” No kidding.

Krech says, “We are mostly asleep inside our own thoughts, our own internal dialogue…We are, habitually, world creating creatures, moment to moment, constantly busy creating and re-creating worlds — fantasy worlds, dream worlds . . . above all thought worlds…” His course involved daily activities that required paying attention, and not getting trapped in thoughts.

The first activities were easy and involved a number of readings.  My favorite was a strategy for those who mentally turn future events into catastrophes by imagining the worst. Saying, “It’s not happening now,” is a way to remind ourselves that it’s not helpful to imagine dreadful results from events that haven’t yet taken place.

Other activities involved noting a particular color, say blue, throughout our day; experiencing different textures through touch; devoting time to listening – really listening—to music; paying attention to smells and movement; offering thank you’s to others; reading a poem and spending time with it. 

I once pitched my novel to an agent who told me I needed to include all the five senses in each chapter. If only I had paid attention to the course I wouldn’t be going back and rewriting some of the chapters now.

There were more activities, enough to fill 30 days, and some that I didn’t do.  Pay attention every time your hand lets go of something during the day: your coffee cup, hair dryer, a door handle, a fork. Too tedious and dull. But as I look back at the assignments and readings, I realize I’m still not paying attention.

A New York Times article called “The Truth About the Internet’s Favorite Stress Hormone,” offered another way to spend a few moments away from thoughts and engage with the senses.  Dani Blum quotes Dr. Raza Sagarwala from Vanderbuilt University who says, “…even setting aside five minutes a day to relax and reset the mind might be beneficial. List five things you can see, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two things you can smell and one thing you can taste.” The kitchen is one place you can do all these things.

I’ll try to weave this or one of Greg Krech’s activities into every week and spend a few moments away from my thoughts. 

I can spend more time in the kitchen, or now that it’s spring and the bunnies are appearing, I can just copy the cat for inspiration.