Welcome to the age of white noise.

We live our lives in a constant tether to phones, to apps, and to social media – mostly acquiescing to FOMO.

In this age of distraction, the ability to experience and be present is often lost, as is our capacity to think and to see and to listen.

Rob Walker, The Art of Noticing

At a basic level, paying attention is simply making a selection among all the stimuli bombarding you at any moment.

Even if we ignore most of what is going on around us, we can only take in so much of the world at a time. Our sensory system has a limited capacity, both in range and in speed of processing.

I was paying so little attention to most of what was right before me that I had become a sleepwalker on the sidewalk. What I saw and attended to was exactly what I expected to see. That attention invited attention’s companion: inattention to everything else.

Alexandra Horowitz, On Looking

Questions to Ponder

• How do you observe the all-too-familiar in order to discover new meaning and discern the activity of God that others miss?
• What do you look for?
• How can you learn to scrutinize the obvious?
• What does it mean to look for the extraordinary in the ordinary?

I would like to suggest the answer to these questions begins with seeing through the lens of love.

Download the tool below to begin a ten-day journey in looking at your neighbors through the lens of love, specifically with the Fruit of the Spirit in mind.

 

The fruit of the Spirit are not merely characteristics that we aspire to own. They are glorious graces that characterize all those who pursue a Christlike character.

In order to “pay attention” by following the Holy Spirit, use the nine fruit of the spirit as described by pastor, professor, and storyteller, Calvin Miller as a framework for incorporating them into your life.