God’s Presents: The Gift of Attention
“Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity”
- Simone Weil
This week:
A father and his young boy rode the train from Brooklyn to Manhattan. They spoke the entire ride, sometimes quietly, sometimes animatedly. There were no electronic devices to be seen. The pure presence of the father was beautiful to behold.
Many clients stepped into my office this week. Some wanted feedback, others silence. They all needed my attention.
My family has a long-standing rule that when there is a family meal, no one is allowed to read at the table (that used to include Gameboys, and now includes iPhones). The goal of the rule is to encourage quality family time, and it works.
I attended a shiva house late last week. I had no comforting words, no wise aphorisms to share. I had only my caring to give. That, and my presence. I was silent much of the time, and I left confident that I gave as best I could.
Presence and Attention. God’s greatest gift to us is His Presence - the ability to have a close connection to Him. We have the ability to tap into His Presence, albeit less potently than when we had the Beis Hamikdash. And some would say that our whole existence is merely a product of God’s Attention. We exist because He holds us in His Consciousness.
As human beings emulating God’s characteristics, we would do well to practice these traits of Presence and Attention. We can work to be present in our lives, in what we think, say, and do. And we can bestow the gift of our attention to all living things that have the good fortune to come our way. Being present and fully attending to the person in front of us is giving, and is the greatest gift of all.