Heroes Not Zombies

The second possible answer to How to Live is “pay attention”. Here’s an answer close to my heart. You could argue that “heroes not zombies” is about paying attention, because what we pay attention to creates what we experience on a day to day basis. Whatever we focus on is magnified by the attention we give.

Isn’t it interesting that we even talk of the “attention economy” nowadays? Whether on social media, tv, or other mainstream media, everyone is competing for our attention and is awarded for success by the advertising industry.

I’d argue that most modern politics is “attention politics” with its emphasis on focus groups, three word slogans and communications which stoke fear and anger and division.

If we’re not aware of where our attention is spending its time, we are in zombie mode, driven this way and that by those who seek to manipulate us.

Montaigne learned the importance of paying attention from the ancients.

Those traditions emphasise the benefits of paying attention to Nature and to everyday experiences. That makes a lot of sense to me. As you’ll find in many of my posts “l’émerveillement du quotidien” is a core principle for me – the wonder in the every day. I’m constantly fascinated by my daily encounters with birds, plants, trees, people, what I read in books, art, drama, music, poetry…..you name it.

Which brings me to another aspect of attention. Iain McGilchrist has shown that our two cerebral hemispheres pay attention in two very different ways. We need both and we experience life at its best when we integrate both halves. The left hemisphere has a narrow focus, honing in on particular details, abstracting them from the overall context and analysing them. It’s great for “grasping” things. The right, however, enables a broad, whole, engaged form of attention. It helps us to see the big picture, to discover and to create connections.

By using both we discover both the unique and the common. We see the context and in so doing better understand the parts.

I like the phrase “engaged attention”. It implies an investment in whatever it is we are paying attention to. It suggests a depth of experience greater than that which is achieved by flicking quickly through channels, “doom scrolling” social media, and purely reactive, unconscious ways of living.

This is one thing I feel quite certain of – it’s a good thing to pay attention !