Alan Weiss’s Monday Morning Memo® – 01/16/17

We miss far too much while embroiled in minor matters. People have their faces planted in their phones while an eagle flies overhead with a fish (or, worse, a car approaches them with another texting driver). Intent on selfies, tourists miss the grandeur or the lake, or temple, or mountain. Focused on getting their money’s worth from the buffet, diners miss the pleasure of conversation. (I recently watched two parents and their two kids all punching their phones amidst Christmas decorations at breakfast in one of New York’s best hotels. They were tourists from Germany.)

We multi-task and miss the action, instead depending on the replay and the rewind. We jog the beach intent on our training regimen and miss the pelican diving ten times to catch a fish (the historic success rate of predators). More people seem to be concerned with the latest computer backups than with trying to meet buyers.

This is the story of misdirection in magic—creating a minor diversion while the sleight-of-hand takes place.

We can be preoccupied with the strong wind instead of noticing that birds soar most easily in strong winds and have to flap their wings more in still air. When someone finally paid attention to that phenomenon, the curved wing was created, which enabled all subsequent powered flight.
Don’t look back with regret or forward with anxiety. Look around with curiosity and awareness.

One cannot answer for his courage when he has never been in danger.
— François VI, duc de La Rochefoucauld

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