 Everyone has a limited attention span. Long before I become an aspiring author and career Naval Officer, I was an avid fan of television shows like ‘The Six Million Dollar Man,’ ‘Wonder Woman,’ and ‘Super Friends.’ Yes, believe it or not, there was a cartoon series titled ‘Super Friends.’ As Wikipedia states, “Super Friends is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes, which ran from 1973 to 1985 on ABC as part of its Saturday-morning cartoon lineup. It was based on the Justice League of America and associated comic book characters published by DC Comics.” The main characters were Superman (of course); Wonder Woman; Batman & Robin; Aquaman; and (again – believe it or not) The Wonder Twins. My youthful Saturday mornings were spent devouring a half-box of Honeycomb cereal while watching the Super Friends respond to emergencies detected by a big computer in their headquarters… the Hall of Justice. As I grew older, a wonderful thing happened in 1986: The standard set of 3 channels of television was increased to a whopping 4 channels when the Fox Network was created. And though the reception was sometimes spotty, having that 4th channel was a very nice option. Many of the new shows on the Fox Network were actually a bit more edgy and interesting, if not controversial. ‘Married… with Children,’ ‘The Simpsons,’ and ‘In Living Color’ (where J-Lo, Jennifer Lopez, earned her start) were three great shows that were born during that period. A few years before the Fox Network was born, Home Box Office – or HBO – changed the television scene forever. HBO allowed us to see movies and documentaries that had literally been shown at the “box office,” or movie theater, as it is more commonly known. In the early 70's, HBO was an awesome new concept - to be able to watch uncut, unedited movies at home (!) I vividly remember going to the mailbox and getting the monthly "HBO Guide," and excitedly flipping through the listing of new movies that were scheduled to be aired that month. Of course, today, there are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of channels from which we can choose. Back then, though, there was only the set of four channels… and HBO. Funny thing about HBO, though… In order to receive the HBO frequency/signal, you had to connect a “set-top” box to the television. And, equally important, the TV had to be specifically on channel ‘3’. If you had the TV tuned in to any other channel, you would see the classic “snow-static screen.” Indeed, there was a night-and-day difference in the signals received when placing the television on channel ‘3’ and when placing the television on, say, channel 4, channel 5, or channel 6. Likewise, there is a huge difference in the type of information we use when we change the type of information we receive. Are you paying attention to the “right” things and people? The point of the post from Day 5 was to PAY ATTENTION... and don’t spend your attention on divisive topics. The follow-on question is, “On what, then, should we spend our precious attention?” Seriously… let’s face it: Everyone has a limited attention span. And the world is full of people who are actively demanding your attention. In many cases, your attention is much more precious than your money. And in some cases, your misguided attention can feed upon itself, until you, yourself, become misguided. As I often tell my daughters when we are swimming on the vast ocean, and when we are balancing ourselves atop rolling bicycles: Where the head goes, the body will follow. Seven months after the birth of my second-oldest daughter, I found myself in the war-torn country of Iraq, at the Forward Operating Base in Taji, on the outskirts of Northwest Baghdad.  Then Lieutenant Commander John Clark III, Taji, Iraq (2004) Upon arrival, I was met with thunderous blasts and falling mortars that literally shook the ground like an earthquake when they exploded. I became so preoccupied with death, I couldn't think straight. And after being in Iraq for about a week, I arrived at an epiphany: if I did not reconcile the significant difference between the POSSIBILITY of my death, and the PROBABILITY of my death, I would not be able to go on with my mission. Surely, we will one day face the end of our mortal lives. However, upon my initial arrival into Taji, Iraq, I was subconsciously and consciously laboring over the likelihood of my imminent death. And those laborious thoughts were taking up too much thought space while also taking a significant toll on my mental and physical health. In other words... I was so worried about dying, I couldn’t sleep, eat, or think. After significant reflection, it occurred to me that I simply needed to accept my death if I wanted to truly live. I needed to make the choice to live. Despite living and working in a very dangerous environment… despite facing the very real possibility of being harmed by someone and something totally beyond my control, I needed to make the choice to ponder (other) things worthy of wonderment. Simply put: I needed to make the choice to move on. And, that choice was truly my choice, alone, to make. After I made the decision to accept the possibility (and probability) of my death, a strange irony occurred. I immediately began to see life in a fantastically different light. My actions and responsibilities gained a greater sense of clarity. Ironically, by confronting and accepting the probability of my own death, I had actually RE-VALUED my already valuable life. Unlike the earlier attitude where I came to the erroneous belief that my life had lost all meaning, I began to see my life as a valuable contribution to the mission and to the people who loved me; I had undergone a personal, professional, and spiritual transformation, all because of one simple choice. I chose to focus on the one thing that I could control: my degree of acceptance. Thus, to answer the earlier question: If we are not supposed to spend our attention on divisive topics. On what shall we spend our precious attention? ANSWER: We should spend a great portion of our time in an attitude of pure thanks… an attitude of gratitude. Why is this attitude of gratitude so important? Quite simply… When we appreciate certain things, those same things subsequently appreciate in value. Likewise, when we begin to lose appreciation for things, those same things ultimately depreciate in value. And it is… just… that… simple. As we move through the seasons of life, many of us spend little or no time appreciating our youth. Perhaps therein lies the beauty of youth (to appreciate it... is to enjoy it without thinking about appreciating it). In our later seasons of life, we want to be appreciated, and we soon begin appreciating "more and more and less and less…" until we are simply appreciative of life itself. The clothes on our back, the sight in our eyes, and the air that we breathe... ...can you imagine life without them? Between you and me, I am absolutely positive that there are so many things for which we could be far more appreciative… far more grateful, and, as such, far more blessed… if we just take the time to open our hearts and minds to the vast riches of life. Today: BE GRATEFUL! Oh, and… Accept what is. Adapt to a changing landscape. Achieve the best possible outcome. Aloha,   |
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