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I have just began a five-week online course entitled, “ Peacebuilding amid Polarization: A Leader's Toolkit for Constructive Engagement on the Israeli-Palestinian Crisis” as part of what I am "paying attention to". Given that this crisis is one among so many “polarizations” in our world, I hope to share some of my learnings and reflections with you in the weeks ahead.
In the meantime, and because my own past few weeks have been a tad jammed up, my “PIC Ponderings” offering comes from a recent article offered by the Wellness Compass Staff (the group that provides our Advent and Lenten meditation booklets).
Please consider the following as we prepare for our (do-over) Annual Meeting this coming Sunday. What are WE paying attention to?
Blessings,
Rev. Lisa
Paying Attention
By Holly Hughes Stoner, Scott Stoner
(Wellness Compass Staff, permission granted to reprint)
People across the United States have been experiencing extreme winter weather lately. There have been tornadoes, heavy rains, bitter cold, ice storms, strong winds, and record snowstorms. We know this as we have been running Zoom Wellness Circles lately with people living through all of these different types of weather. We have people from VA, WI, NY, CA, NC, OR, FL, MD, and UT in one we are running now, and everyone is talking about the challenging weather they are experiencing this winter.
One group member shared the quote, "If you choose not to find joy in the snow, you will have less joy in your life but still the same amount of snow." While this may seem a stretch if we are experiencing truly dangerous weather, we like the spirit of this quote. It fits with a quote that runs throughout our resources: "Whatever we pay attention to is what will grow."
If we give most of our attention to our complaints (weather or otherwise) our negative energy will grow. If we pay attention to what we are grateful for, to what brings us joy (including road crews, utility workers, first responders, and others who help restore services after a storm), that will grow as well.
Here are some other examples of paying attention and the results we can get:
If we pay attention and praise good behavior in a child, we will likely see more of that behavior.
If we pay attention to and appreciate someone's efforts to face a challenging situation, we may increase their self-confidence and commitment to keep working to overcome their challenge.
If we really pay attention to some habit we want to change, we will be more likely to make that change.
If we pay attention to the kindness of another, by expressing our gratitude and appreciation, we encourage more acts of kindness.
When we pay extra attention to someone we care about, we make them feel cared about, and we grow the relationship.
You can probably think of additional examples from your own life of how "What we pay attention to grows," and we encourage you to do so.
We also encourage you to test out the truth of this principle by making a concerted effort, in the days and weeks to come, to go out of your way, and to pay attention to something or someone in your life that you would like to enhance.
Give that part of your life more attention in the next few weeks and see what happens. Most likely, that area of your life will grow, no matter the weather.
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