Numb

Introduction

Our attention impacts our world and our world impacts our attention. With attention comes our awareness. Sometimes focused, sometimes divided, our attention helps us in our work, using our knowledge and skills towards everything from problem solving to creating a safe work environment on a job site. It also brings a focus on those around us, noticing their behavior and appearance, what they say and how they say it. With our attention also comes compassion towards the suffering of our neighbor or those far away. Attention is that critical prerequisite to so many of the thoughts, feelings, and actions that make us human. Being educated, skilled, or even empathetic means little without attention. If our attention is not focused on a conversation, we cannot bring our perspective, expertise, or caring to that dialogue. One could have all of the resources in the world to cure disease, fight hunger, or end wars, but if her attention isn't focused on those problems, those resources are not much use.

Each of us has only so much attention. If we focus on something – whether a sound, sight, smell, or touch – that focus is highlighting something as much as it is blocking other sights or sounds around us. For example, as you read this book, you are focusing on the words on this page at the expense of the sounds of voices around you, the smell of food in the kitchen, or even the feeling of the chair in which you are sitting. Attention is a limited resource, so we have to be ...