Focus: Looking Inward, Outward, and Beyond

Being the second of six children, I learned the Gift of Focus, the ability to block out noise and distractions so I could read and study.  This gift has helped throughout my professional career as I have worked on very complex and detailed projects.

There are times in every day, though, when I become so focused on what I am doing that I do not see or hear anything else.  It is as if I am focused on a pinpoint of light at the end of a long tunnel... straining to see what is at the end of the darkness; waiting to arrive at the destination.

This is when I notice that this Gift also has a Shadow:

• [Gift]  Focusing helps me complete the task at hand; and,
• [Shadow]  When I become so intent on the goal, I don't pay attention to the journey. I may not listen to or hear what others are saying.  I may not observe what is happening around me.  I miss out on information and experiences that may be important to others.

Focus... Straining toward One Goal
(Fish Seller in Lisbon, Portugal)

Let's use an Open Door as an image to consider the Goal and the Journey.  There are several elements to this image:

• Where we are (on one side of the open door).
• The threshold (which provides a limited perspective of what can be seen beyond the open door).
• Where we choose to go (to stay where we are or to walk through the open door). 

We see glimpses of the space beyond the open door from where we are.  With this limited view, we can anticipate and make conclusions about what we see.  But, we need to walk through the opening to see the fullness of what is beyond.

Choice and Action are important keys to an open door of journey and goal.

Focus... Opening Doors of Possibilities
(Lisbon, Portugal)

As my walking group climbed the steps through a Lisbon alleyway, I was struck by the  multiple aspects of the city view:  in the foreground - the many colors of the local neighborhood; in the background - the residences and castle on the distant hill.  With one angle or perspective, we could hold both views together.

An openness to dialogue provides us opportunities to practice seeing different views or perspectives where we can balance both journey and goal, past and present, reality and aspiration.

 Focus... Looking Outward and Beyond
(Lisbon, Portugal)

As we move through these waning weeks of 2017, let us consider the following questions in light of the Open Door image:  holding lightly the events of this past year (where we are), becoming aware of current energies and tensions (the threshold that limits our view), and looking forward to the possibilities before us (the choice and action to move beyond):

• What memories of the past year bring:  Unhappiness, frustration, and pain?  Happiness, hope, and healing? 
• Are there current views, meanings, and conclusions about people in your life that need to be re-examined? 
• How might you begin a conversation with a family member or friend estranged, seeking to understand past actions, current situations, and future hopes? 

May this last month of 2017 draw you to thresholds which focus inward and outward choices, allowing you to take action to move beyond the open door!

Larry Gardepie

 Dialogue San Diego Consulting
(click on link to website)