Heroes Not Zombies

We live in what has been termed “an attention economy”, which strikes me as in no small way paradoxical. I know what they mean. Sensationalism, shock, revulsion, fear and anger seem to be the most prominent tools used by all forms of mass and social media, and as so many business models are based on selling advertising space on the basis of “number of views” and “engagement”, I understand exactly what is meant by an “attention economy”.

Except, it seems to me, inattention is driven with even greater force than attention. It’s the short tweets, short videos, all competing with each other for a moment’s attention that pushes the viewer, the reader, the listener, ever quicker onwards to the next sound bite, the next breathtakingly brief “news” or “information”.

It all feels horribly shallow, frustrating, and, frankly, depressing!

What’s the answer to this? How do we move from bland to satisfying, from sensationalism to knowledge and understanding?

I use two habits. Slow down. And Wonder.

I can’t spend any time in my garden, at the Roman Spring across the road, or in a park or forest, without slowing right down. I’m stopped in my tracks every time. Yes, something “catches my attention”, but in these natural environments, it’s not something shocking or sensational, it’s beauty and fascination.

I see “an ordinary” flower, some berries, the shape of a tree, and I stop. More often than not, I take a photograph, or two or three. But I also take time to wonder….to be amazed, to be enthralled by, to contemplate and consider, the beauty, the intricacy of design, the delicacy, fragility, strength and power of what I see.

Here’s a passage from Wordsworth which resonates with my way of thinking.

Thanks to the human heart by which we live,
Thanks to its tenderness, its joys, and fears,
To me the meanest flower that blows can give
Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears.

I find that those experiences build upon each other. They flex my muscles of attention differently. And I take these habits into the other areas of my life…..slowing down and wondering….habits which nurture a heart centred approach to this world and all the living beings I encounter.

And there’s another paradox of the attention economy – what strikes me as superficial and/or manipulative comes across as simply uninteresting. I’m not compelled to look below the headline, or to click the bait, because again and again, I find no satisfaction there.

Let me spend my attention on beauty and wonder instead, and I’ll live a more enchanted life.