Attention Appropriation

On this blog I've written several times about what has become a major mantra of mine: Pay Attention! Our narrow human senses are able to capture only a small slice of reality—thus much of the world is completely inaccessible to us. For example, we are blind to light waves at either high (microwave) or low (infrared) frequencies. We are deaf to sounds at very low or high frequencies. Our noses are pretty poor at discerning scents. We miss a lot.

Compounding the situation, our attention is often interrupted, so that even the slice we can perceive is missed. It's amazing that we get along as well as we do, when we miss so much! I've become increasingly conscious of the fact that a balanced life is heavily dependent on our ability to pay attention to that minor portion of reality that our senses allow us to soak up, as we simultaneously attempt to filter out useless noise.

I live a lifestyle that helps me to focus my attention pretty much on what seems relevant to me. I am very fortunate. I no longer participate in mainstream society, largely because commercial interests have become so accomplished at exploiting that valuable quality we each possess: our attention. Sales people are literally gobbling up our ability to concentrate, by using omnipresent ads that persuade us to buy their wares. Everywhere we turn, we are inundated with interfering messages that appropriate our attention.

As John Prine sings in his song “Quit Hollerin' At Me:”

I don't want your big french fry
I don't want your car
I don't want to buy no soap
From no washed-up movie star
You are so much louder
Than the show I wanna hear
With your sugarless gum
Gee, but I'm dumb
Non-alcoholic beer
It's enough to make a grown man
Blow up his own TV
Quit hollerin' at me
Quit hollerin' at me.

These constant interventions are literally an invasion of our freedom to think. It is an example of transferring a personal kind of wealth that the public owns (our attention), to private interests—in the name of profit. Our attention really is similar to other valuable resources that we all hold in common, such as the air we breathe and the water we drink. Our attention is literally being stolen, much in the same manner that commercial interests dump toxic wastes in the environment or despoil natural resources for profit.

We humans have evolved to notice fast-changing aspects of our world. In the deep past it helped us avoid threats in the natural world—such as snakes and tigers. Commercial interests have cleverly learned to take advantage of this instinct by commanding our attention, using fast-paced ads and entertainment. We're drawn into their sphere of influence by the flickering and rapidly-changing images that capture our awareness. This situation has slowly crept up on civilization, to the point that many urban residents spend most of their waking hours being drawn into constant clatter and distractions.

Contemplatives throughout history have understood the necessity of paying attention to their surroundings. Their kind of lifestyle is threatened with extinction today. Monastic communities are dwindling. Modern people are losing their ability to concentrate on much of anything, except what commercial interests want us to.

The next time an ad gets in your face or a jingle assaults your ears, it might to help ponder what you might do to get some peace and quiet... and pay attention, or sing out “Quit Hollerin' at Me!”