May I Have Your Attention Please

Recently I saw a businessman enter the grocery store ahead of me, and he was talking on his cell phone. Sound familiar? While passing each other in the aisles and through the check out, he was still on the phone, much to the chagrin of the check out person trying to ask him a question. She wanted to communicate with him. He wasn’t paying attention.

Multi-tasking has its place and is often necessary in the competitive, do it now world that we live in. However, at times and for some things, we just need to slow down and be in the moment in order for quality communication to take place.

Creating, viewing and truly enjoying art are a few of those places and times. For example, not many artists try to create a painting and balance their checkbook at the same time. They may have more than one painting that they are working on, but not at the same time, with both hands. They focus, giving one all of their attention and energy and then switch to the other.

The same applies to viewing and truly enjoying the art experience in a gallery. If you come in talking on the phone, discussing what you’re going to do this weekend or what’s on sale at the garden shop, you are going to miss the experience of being in the gallery. Each piece of art in the gallery is a creation to be felt fully and in the present. To allow yourself to be distracted is to miss the full richness of the artist’s voice, and to miss the opportunity to communicate in a fuller, more meaningful way.

So come into the gallery, relax, leave the world with all it’s pressures behind. Turn off the cell phone and allow yourself to live in the moment. Pay attention! You’ll be glad you did!

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderfully creative day.........Jim