“It was pitch black in the cavern. The walls of the tunnel curved over Ciro as he looked at the torch in his hand. It shot a beam just enough to light his way ahead. He headed into the darkness with determination. This was the way forward. He walked on afraid of what hid in the dark, occasionally catching a glimpse of white on the walls. He couldn’t wait to get out of this place. He felt a gust of air as the tunnel broadened and he found another source of light, coming from what seemed to be a lantern on the ground. As he made to pick it and look back through the opening he came from, he was greeted by a most amazing sight: the walls were covered with elaborate murals telling a story of ages past.”
As you read this edition, your focus is on your phone or laptop. Try to recollect the details from a few moments ago and you will find it harder to describe your periphery. Isn’t that the case with each and every thing we experience? As we focus on certain elements, those get retained in our memory and that is what we recollect. That is what becomes our reality.
Consider this: if you knew I was going to question you about your periphery, wouldn’t your focus have shifted? Wouldn’t your reality have expanded to include extra details? Over the years, we have been doing this; in the process of executing an idea, in preparation of a challenge, in the state of flow. We constantly zoom in and zoom out as the situation demands to move forward and learn better.
This is the equivalent of getting that perfect shot on your camera. As you try to bring the subject into focus, you adjust your lens and align your frame to get it just right. This control of focus, once taken on consciously, allows us to zoom in on important details to get clarity and depth of understanding, and zoom out to see the bigger picture and make connections between various elements.
But sometimes, this ability goes counter to us as we focus and get fixated on a particular idea or problem. In those moments, it is important to become aware and monitor our thoughts, emotions, and behaviours. We can learn to recognize when we're getting stuck and consciously redirect our focus to build our new reality.
Remember: Your focus determines your reality.
Until the next owl delivery,
Yours always,
Gaurav G