Alright, everyone, now pay attention.  This week, we are going to turn our attention to, well…paying attention.

Albert Einstein is credited with observing that, “[a]ny man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves.”

It’s a funny line, but what’s his point?  Well, certainly not that we should drive without paying attention.  Rather, Einstein is recognizing that we should give our attention to things according to their value; that perhaps a man shouldn’t be driving at all while he’s kissing the girl!

And this makes sense.  The word “attention” comes from the Latin attendere, meaning “to stretch toward,” or “to apply the mind to.”  And the word “pay” comes from the Latin, pacare, meaning “to please, pacify, satisfy.”  Paying attention is like tendering our mind’s focus upon something in satisfaction of a debt that we owe to the thing. 

But Einstein’s observation also makes one other thing quite clear: Our attention is not an unlimited resource.  We cannot give our attention to everything.  We cannot satisfy every demand for it.  We must choose how to spend it.  And the choices we make will have consequences—either for our relationship with the girl or for the front fender of our car.

Now, I tend to agree with Einstein: Better to kiss and not drive, than drive and not kiss.  But in either case, the question remains: When it comes to your attention, how will you choose to spend it?

Have a wonderful day.