Focused attention and persistence

Changed the life of one eighth grader

"Bringing the mind to stillness is easy. You need only pay attention to one thing. As long as your mind is listening to the rain it is not thinking about anything else. You don’t need to try to still your mind. You need only to relax and continue listening to the rain. The longer you are able to do so, the more still your mind becomes." – Thich Nhat Hanh.

Xavier Jones had one thing in mind … getting to his 8^th grade graduation ceremony. He also had persistence. The family car wasn’t working and the ceremony was being held six miles away at Harris-Stowe State University, a historically Black University in St. Louis, Mo. It was a hot day for a trip that would take two hours through tough neighborhoods and busy traffic. However, Xavier set off, determined to collect the diploma he had worked hard for.

As I read Xavier’s story, I thought how easy it would have been for him to use the perfectly good excuse of not having transportation to stay home. He had no idea what was waiting for him if he said “yes” to this challenge to get out of his comfort zone. Later he said, "If you like really want to get something, then you have to work hard for it."

Jones collected his diploma and his story caught the attention of  Dr. LaTonia Collins Smith, president of the University who granted him a full-ride presidential scholarship. "He wanted to be present," she said. "(That) speaks volumes ... Half the battle is showing up." 

Where we put our attention is the first step in showing up.

One thing I’m paying more attention to these days is Substack which is rich with excellent writers talking about interesting ideas. For instance

Rob Walker

in his newsletter The Art of Noticing caught my attention with the question below. It’s a reminder that we can pay attention with all of our senses and offers some fun ideas for developing our listening skills.

How "Open-Eared" Are You?

A recent episode of Sound Opinions included an interview with Timothy McKenry, a professor of music at Australian Catholic University, on an interesting subject: the tendency to get less curious about new music as we age.

McKenry wrote about this in The Conversation: multiple studies, he says, show “our willingness to explore new or unfamiliar music declines with age.” And that’s a pity, he argues, because “the thrill of discovering new songs and new sounds can enrich people of all ages.”

It turns out there’s a pleasing (well, to me) academic term for the openness to new music: “open-earedness.”