It’s another week and I am grateful that the words are flowing today. As I have mentioned in past blogs, a thought comes to me and then it pops up a few more times. This week I have been thinking about focus. Focus is described as the center of interest or activity. If we are clear about our focus, we see that things flow easier and we accomplish a lot more in a shorter time. But if our focus is scattered then we are basically wasting energy on things that are not productive. Also when we pinpoint an area of interest and hone our focus, we are able to find a certain clarity and ease. Our focus may be misplaced even with the best intentions.
I was reading the story about Martha and Mary in Luke and the following stood out to me:
“But the Lord answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art anxious and troubled about many things: but one thing is needful: for Mary hath chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”
Martha was focused on making sure the guests were taken care of, and cleaning the house, etc. the same as many of us would do when we have guests in our home. But yet Jesus said that Mary was doing the right thing. In this story Mary’s focus was on Jesus. Martha did nothing wrong but her focus was off. She was focused on the others and herself which caused her to be troubled.
I felt that. How many times have I felt stressed or worried because I was focusing on the wrong things. Especially when you allow yourself to wonder what others are thinking, you can send yourself into a spiral. I am learning that sometimes all it takes is to be present in the moment. We can worry about the future, the bills, others’ opinions and live in this bubble in our heads that is not even reality. But when we turn our focus to the present moment then we can see what is important. Usually we don’t know how important a moment is until it becomes a memory.
Will your memories be filled with the anxious hustling and bustling and tidying or with moments of joy and laughter with loved ones? Our phones have become these all in one assistants and I for one can get caught up on mine. My Bible is on my phone, my books are on my phone, apps for my business and my finances are on my phone. I won’t even go into detail about social media. Mobile phones are beneficial and social media has its advantages but it doesn’t take away from how much time we spend on them. Being present in the moment allows me to get on the floor and play with my son or really listen to a story my daughter is telling.
I have learnt that with focus comes solutions. When I started Tropsical I was initially focused on getting the first batch out, then my focus switched to packaging and storage. I have about 14 flavors and I am stopping at that amount for now so I can focus on improving other aspects. It is easy for me to add flavors but then I would be so focused on making pops that I would have no time to work on other things. As I work on ideas for transporting the pops, my focus allows me to see solutions in my mind easier. My mind is not crowded with millions of thoughts on different things. There is space for me to unravel the ball of yarn. Imagine splitting your focus over fifty different things. Those balls of yarns would be tangled up in each other in no time. Or you can look at focus as a child taking a container of toys to play with. When they dump out the container with dinosaurs, there should only be dinosaurs and then before taking another container, they need to put away the dinosaurs. Focus keeps everything neat in your mind.
That is also why I think it is important to have moments of rest and be present in those moments. If you think you don’t have time to rest then you are definitely overdue for some R&R. Start by simply being present in this moment. Where are you reading this blog? What’s happening around you? How are you feeling? Listen to the noises around you. Take a moment and inhale deeply then slowly exhale. Take a walk outdoors, feel the breeze or the sun. The next time you begin to feel anxious or stressed, just pause. Ask yourself why you feel that way. The other morning I started to panic because I started listing everything I had to do over and over and it began to feel overwhelming. Finally I stopped thinking and started writing. Once I wrote everything down, my mind automatically started making sense of it and mapping out my day. Don’t let your thoughts consume you. Take hold of them and make them work for you. You are in control of your thoughts, words and actions. Own them!
MotherLovingDiva 