Reflections 29th January

Attention and Connection

Photo by Geraldine Dukes on Unsplash

Connection: "a binding or joining together," from *connexare, frequentative of conectere "to fasten together, to tie, join together,"

As I’ve reflected on capacity, authority and attention and now turn this week to connection, it becomes ever clearer just how symbiotic, intertwined and interdependent they are in determining a sense of coherence in our lives. Like dominoes, tip one off balance and the others are not far behind. Being ourselves in a world that often wants us to be something else to be “productive” in an increasingly asymmetric economic system is a challenge.

There feels to be a “chicken and egg” relationship between attention and connection. Which comes first? Do our connections direct our attention, or does our attention determine our connections?

As often occurs, a passage I had read sprang to mind, though I had to wait a short while in order to be able to locate it. It resonated because I have a real sense that the more technically …