Mary Oliver on What Attention Really Means and Her Moving Elegy for Her Soul Mate
Maria Popovathemarginalian.org
Mary Oliver on What Attention Really Means and Her Moving Elegy for Her Soul Mate
“Attention is the beginning of devotion,” writes the poet Mary Oliver, pointing to the fact that distraction and care are incompatible with each other: you can’t truly love a partner or a child, dedicate yourself to a career or to a cause—or just savor the pleasure of a stroll in the park—except to the extent that you can hold your attention on the... See more
Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals
I understood immediately that certain things—attention, great energy, total concentration, tenderness, risk, beauty—were elements of poetry. And I understood that these elements did not grow as grass grows from a seed, naturally and unstoppably, but rather were somehow gathered and discovered by the poet, and placed inside the poem. —Mary Oliver
Bill Morgan • The Meditator's Dilemma: An Innovative Approach to Overcoming Obstacles and Revitalizing Your Practice
The late great Mary Oliver’s advice for life ❣️ “To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work.”
instagram.comAttention is all we have. According to philosopher Simone Weil, it is sacred — the rarest form of generosity:
“Attention alone, that attention which is so full that the ‘I’ disappears, is required of me. I have to deprive all that I call ‘I’ of the light of my attention and turn it onto that which cannot be conceived.”
Alex Dobrenko` • switching to a "dumb" phone made me feel pretty dang smart
Attention is the most basic form of love. By paying attention we let ourselves be touched by life, and our hearts naturally become more open and engaged.