Are you paying attention?

You haven’t noticed, but there have been no updates here for a while. I know you haven’t noticed, and that’s fine, that’s on me. Our attention span is not enough to keep track of everything that’s going on, let alone things that are not going on. So a lack of updates will catch the attention of exactly no one.

So why haven’t I posted any updates lately? Don’t I have anything to say?

We all have something to say. Sometimes we say it face to face, sometimes we say it in a chat, sometimes we write it on a sticky note. Sometimes we say things using our hands, sometimes we use our voice.

And sometimes we can even use silence to convey a message.

That’s not why there haven’t been any updates here for a while. I haven’t kept quiet to convey a message. I’ve been busy, but so have we all.

No, the main reason I haven’t posted any updates lately could be summarized in the words of Epictetus:

“We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.”

Lately, I’ve had the chance to listen to a lot of good things. It’s given me time to think, to reflect, and to learn. I haven’t been burned out, I haven’t gone through a crisis, and I haven’t been sick. Instead, I have found myself in a position where I have had many opportunities to listen and to reflect. It’s been a good time.

And now I have something to share again, so here we are.

I would like to encourage you to do the same.

I would like to encourage you to listen. But not just listen to whatever is being served to you. You have to actively go out and find the things that are worth listening to. You have to find the people that are worth listening to. You have to find the books, the podcasts, the articles, the videos, the music, and the art. If you don’t actively do the search, someone else will happily fill your ears with whatever they want you to hear, and don’t expect this to be of much benefit to you. Pay attention to what you pay attention to.

Because there’s an uncomfortable fact that most people don’t like to be reminded of; Our attention has become a commodity. For enough money, your attention is for sale. And so is mine.

Unless…

Unless you start to actively choose what to pay attention to. Once you realise that you can choose, you can start saying no. You can say no to those who want to buy your attention in order to make you buy things you don’t want or need. You can say no to those who want to plant seeds of doubt, fear, and anger in your mind. You can say no to those who want to make you feel insecure or bad about yourself in order to push their agenda onto you.

And you can say yes to those who want to help you grow, to learn, to be happy, to be healthy, to be brave, to be generous, and to be creative.

I want to be clear here, this is not a deep-state, conspiracy theory kind of post. It’s not a warning about the Illuminati or some other secret society. Not all marketing is bad, not all news are fake, and not all people are out to scam you. But in today’s climate, it’s important to remember that you and you alone must choose what to pay attention to.

So, where are the updates? Here’s one, in this post. And I hope you find it worth your attention. But if you don’t, that’s ok too. I will still support your right to choose.