Look Here, not There

Do you ever hear comments in passing that strike you as prophetic? Such happened to me this morning when a friend said, “The more you notice, the worse you do.” Why do I find this prophetic?

“The more you notice…”

There is so much to notice these days. There’s the pandemic, social unrest, broadcast and social media polarization, changes in work environments, antagonism, uncertainty, general ambiguity, and (insert topic here).  “Noticing More” can be all-consuming.

“The worse you’ll do…”

Attention turned away from the road ahead can land you in a ditch.

This brings me to what at first seems like a paradox.  If one has passion regarding a subject, often in varying degrees by topic and by the person, it seems illogical to suggest the person should “notice less.”

So, to be clear, the point is not so much to notice less, but rather to focus first on the good and positive (here) more than the bad and negative (there). HERE’s a poem to that end:

 

Here is now; There is then.

Here is love; There is sin.

 

Here is hope; There is freight.

Here is opportunity; There is weight.

 

Here is what I do for them; There is what they owe me.

Here is joy from serving; There is anxiety.

 

Here is what could be; There is what to demonize.

Here is seeking a common bond; there is polarized.

 

Here is warm; There is cold.

Here is new; There is old.

 

Here is helping; There is hating.

Here is building; There is degrading.

 

Here works an innovated future; There is fear.

Here is improved; There is unclear.

 

Here is humble; There is pride.

Here is Truth; There is a taken side.

 

Look Here, not There!  But Where?

I know not this “Here” and this “There?”

 

Well, you see, inside each of us is masterful art.

“Here” and “There” are on opposite sides of the same heart.

 

John Hearn

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John A. Hearn

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