{"id":106,"date":"2013-03-16T12:13:06","date_gmt":"2013-03-16T12:13:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/yourbestlifenow\/?p=106"},"modified":"2013-03-16T13:16:58","modified_gmt":"2013-03-16T13:16:58","slug":"giving-your-attention-too-quickly-to-the-next-thing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourbestlifenow\/2013\/03\/giving-your-attention-too-quickly-to-the-next-thing.html","title":{"rendered":"Giving Your Attention Too Quickly to the Next Thing&#8230;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/yourbestlifenow\/files\/2013\/03\/beneath.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-107\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/352\/2013\/03\/beneath-300x220.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"220\" \/><\/a>&#8220;Much of our confusion in life comes from giving our attention too quickly to the next thing&#8230;&#8221; says Mark Nepo this morning.<\/p>\n<p>Ah, now that touches a nerve in me. It does some of you, too. Which is precisely why, of all the things your eyes might have fallen on this morning, they have fallen on this instead.<\/p>\n<p>Coincidence?<\/p>\n<p>Well, I suppose you could call it that, if you believe in such.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m not so inclined. Instead, I prefer to think that you&#8217;re here because this is Life&#8217;s way of saying to you, &#8220;Will you continue to live on the surface of your life? In constant motion? Driven as you are from one status update to the next? From one appointment&#8230; assignment&#8230;from one project and responsibility to the next?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Any wonder you so seldom see the wonder of life? Of living? Why would you believe you could live any other way but confused? Uncertain? Or, pulled in a million and one directions?<\/p>\n<p>Why not imagine what&#8217;s beneath the surface? Could it be that what you seek lies somewhere within? Closer than you think?<\/p>\n<p>Now, lest you think I&#8217;m just pontificating this morning, you should know that I am describing my life. I&#8217;m too surface&#8230;too shallow&#8230;and, so often, confused.<\/p>\n<p>No surprise? Only to those who read what I write and think of me as someone who is where they&#8217;d like to be. No, my friend, you read what I write precisely because you know&#8230;you know deeply&#8230;I&#8217;m not there, yet. \u00a0And, yet, I am, too. Because, you see, the moment I&#8217;m aware of the surface life I live, I have just taken a plunge to the depths.<\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s life&#8217;s mystery. When we know we&#8217;re not&#8230;we ARE.<\/p>\n<p>The uncertainty within which most of us live is therefore directly related to the surface living most of us do. We remain not long enough to know anything with absolute peace&#8230;to know anyone with depth.<\/p>\n<p>Except that, even now, we feel a little more at peace&#8230;a little deeper than a few moments ago.<\/p>\n<p>And, why is this? Because, if you&#8217;ve read this much of this morning&#8217;s status report from the surface guru himself, there&#8217;s a pretty good chance, you are plunging into the depths of deeper knowing even now!<\/p>\n<p>You, my friend, are beginning to live&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Your Best Life Now! \u00a0Your DEEPEST Life Now!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Much of our confusion in life comes from giving our attention too quickly to the next thing&#8230;&#8221; says Mark Nepo this morning. Ah, now that touches a nerve in me. It does some of you, too. Which is precisely why, of all the things your eyes might have fallen on this morning, they have fallen&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":551,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[166,170,171,168,165,167,169,172,47,174,173,16,175],"class_list":["post-106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spirituality","tag-a-nerve-in-me","tag-appointment","tag-assignment","tag-coincidence","tag-confusion-in-life","tag-fallen","tag-life","tag-lifes-mystery","tag-mark-nepo","tag-plunge","tag-we-are","tag-your-best-life-now-2","tag-your-deepest-life-now"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Giving Your Attention Too Quickly to the Next Thing... - Your Best Life Now<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Giving Your Attention Too Quickly to the Next Thing... - Your Best Life Now\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"&#8220;Much of our confusion in life comes from giving our attention too quickly to the next thing&#8230;&#8221; says Mark Nepo this morning. 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Leadership Coach... Counsel to Non-Profits, Faith-based Organizations and Congregations... Adjunct Professor of Communication at the University of Kentucky... Spiritual Teacher... Inspirational and Motivational Speaker. But not always in this order. On the university campus, I teach students the Art of Communication. In my public talks, however, I teach leaders the Art of Leading; I teach everyone the Art of Living...so that... when you come to the end... and, you will come to the end... You're able to look back on life feeling... Fulfilled... Accomplished... Content, Peaceful, and Happy, too... Knowing your brief but important journey has made this world a more... Conscious... Compassionate, and... Charitable place. 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