caricature girl

You know, I have been thinking a lot about the word "focus" lately. Since getting back from the ISCA convention in Ohio, my focus has mostly refused to return to work and instead has been wandering around the internet, enjoying the convention afterglow, soaking up distraction like a sponge, in a creative, yet undisciplined and headstrong way.

In art or more specifically in a painting, the focus is the area of the painting with the highest level of contrast or conflict. However in life, we demand our focus to be the area that we select, on any given day, at the whim of our responsibilities. The thing is, sometimes the areas in our life of bright contrast or conflict often have something valuable to teach us when we actually do take the time to really allow our attention to rest there. Sometimes we need to crawl up and snuggle right into that distraction even if its not instantly "profitable" or time "justifiable", because the elements of personal investment and/or career enhancement are not always recognizable in advance.

Now at 45, when I look back at all the things that pulled my attention away from the things I thought I should be focusing on, I realize that allowing myself to be distracted by what moves me is what has gotten me to where I am today.