Wellness In-Sight: Focus

CINDY E. FARRAR

Afunny thing happened on the way to the editor…. Last month, as with each month, upon finishing my column, I reflect upon the appropriate headline, fill it in, and submit the column and await any questions and edits. One of the questions I received back from our editor was in reference to the word “Focus” in the headline. The funny thing is (and my response was), “I have zero recollection of typing the word and have no clue how it got there.” I really appreciated her rather witty reply, “I guess ‘ghostwriter’ has a new meaning for you!” I figured also my muse was giving me a sneak peek into this month’s theme.

So, in honor of my muse, let’s consider the significance of ‘focus.’ There is a part of the brain called the Reticular Activating System (RAS). It is a bundle of nerve fibers that is the filter for the sensory input (except smells) coming into our brains. It connects our conscious with our unconscious and brings into our awareness that on which we are focusing and intending. For instance, if you are thinking about purchasing a chartreuse Volkswagen Beetle, suddenly everywhere you go, you see chartreuse Volkswagen Beetles. Obviously, Volkswagen didn’t just suddenly sell a bunch of them in your area. They have always been there. Your RAS has brought them into your awareness. It is also important to note that the RAS filters equally based upon our focus, positive or negative.

How we focus has as much impact as upon what or where we place our attention. Like adjusting the lens of a camera, we can zoom in with a narrow focus, helpful when attention to detail is desired, or necessary to attract a specific objective or attain a goal. We can also zoom out or expand our focus to capture a greater perspective. It becomes a question of “not seeing the forest for the trees,” or seeing the forest and the trees.

In addition, there is a fine line between focused intention or concentration, and fixation or dwelling. The former keeps us in the present with minimal if any obscurations, while the latter implies some degree of stuck-ness. Considering specifically the modern meaning of the verb ‘to dwell,’ it is to abide, to live. It can also mean to linger, continue in a particular state. And its original Old English meaning is to seduce, get lost or lead astray. This relates to the term and theory of the ‘comfort zone’ coined in 1908 by psychologists Robert M. Yerkes and John D. Dodson. It refers to a place and things that feel familiar, that hold no fear and anxiety. While this familiarity can be appealing, we can be seduced by the feeling of control that we then equate with a sense of security, all be it a false sense. The more we dwell with our focus no further than what we perceive to be comfortable, our potential for growth can be inhibited, and our exposure to possibility and opportunity diminished.

The ‘what’ and ‘how’ of our focus have great implications for our lives day-to-day and in totality. Alfred Grant Walton summarizes it well in his poem, “The World We Make.”

We make the world in which we live By what we gather and what we give, By our daily deeds and the things we say, By what we keep or we cast away.

We make our world by the beauty we see In a skylark's song or a lilac tree, In a butterfly's wing, in the pale moon's rise, And the wonder that lingers in midnight skies.

We make our world by the life we lead, By the friends we have, by the books we read, By the pity we show in the hour of care, By the loads we lift and the love we share.

We make our world by the goals we pursue, By the heights we seek and the higher view, By hopes and dreams that reach the sun And a will to fight till the heights are won.

What is the place in which we dwell, A hut or a palace, a heaven or hell We gather and scatter, we take and we give, We make our world — and there we live.

CINDY E. FARRAR, LMT, BCTMB, CLC is a licensed massage therapist, certified life coach and the owner of Massage Associates of Atlanta, LLC (Lavista Road in Tucker). In addition, she is a certified Qi Gong instructor and a nationally approved continuing education provider for massage therapy and bodywork. Cindy enjoys sharing insights on wellness and personal and community development as a speaker and writer.