Getting Focused

I wanted to throw out some thoughts from the day. Twice, in completely different contexts, I heard the message, "don't get distracted"/"stay focused." There were other motifs surrounding that theme, but that was the gist of it both times. And the point both speakers were trying to make was to stay focused on what's actually important. Because let's be honest, we can all get laser-focused on the wrong thing and totally miss the point.

So what's that important thing? What do we stay focused on?

With very simple things, like skill acquisition, the focal point is whatever the purpose of the skill is. Not just performing like you would for a talent show -- performing with an understanding of each facet and the overarching context of why you are doing that skill in that particular way. Anyone can take a picture, but a photographer has the understanding to make it something excellent. Anybody can learn to shoot a basketball into a hoop, but true skill means you also know how to get around the opponent's defense and set up your team for continued successes. The focus is not just the skill itself, it's whatever the point of the skill is: art, athletic victory, music, etc.

Let's expand beyond the relatively simple. Skills and hobbies are great, but they are themselves subject to an even bigger focal point. Why are you taking pictures? Why are you playing basketball? Why do you play music? How you define that ultimate focus is up to you, but it will determine how you perceive everything in your life. It is the True North that you will be (and already are) navigating by.

For me, my True North, my focal point, is the kingdom of God. This means that Jesus is my King, and that I am one of his subjects, and I follow my King's orders and reflect who he is to those around me. The ultimate focus of my skills and hobbies are (ideally) centered on that. Maybe not always in a directly obvious way, but the "vibe" of how I do things and why I do them should always reflect that focus.

Tangent Time...
I know monarch language is a little out there for some of my readers, so think of it this way: Every nation has a "vibe" to it, if you will, and that vibe is set by its governing power and the response of its people to that governing power. Tyrannical dictator and frightened people? Scary vibes, not great for tourism, people escape if they can. Warlord who won a rigged election, with rebel factions in the populace? Danger and civil unrest vibes, no travel zone, lots of refugees. Group of bickering politicians ruling over populace with no greater enemy than themselves? Self-centered vibes, great for tourism and money-spending, people mostly settle for the way things are.

Then imagine this: A unified voice in leadership, with impossible wisdom to both exact justice and extend mercy, indescribable love for his people, unmatched power to protect his kingdom (and its citizens) from all who would harm it/them, and literally all the wealth (both material and immaterial) in all of creation to offer his citizens. His people know they're valued and loved and safe, and they show that to each other, and invite others in to experience it, too.

My Point Is
My point is that life has a point. All life does, not just mine. But since I can only speak about my experience of that, I'll reel it back in to first person. My focus for life is being a Kingdom Citizen. There are a lot of ways to get distracted while I'm about that purpose, because let's be honest, life is messy and it's really much easier to just focus on myself. But if I keep my eyes on the real goal, it colors how I view the messiness and even the tedium of boring everyday stuff. It's usually not easy, but if you're able to look at and through the thing in front of you to what lies beyond, it makes a world of difference. I think it's important to not ignore what's going on in front of you and around you, but if you allow yourself to focus only on them, you'll often find yourself going miles off course.

It's worth clarifying that losing focus and getting off track is never the end of the journey. Just because you drove for hundreds of miles to the west or slowed to a crawl doesn't mean you can't start going north again. It just means you'll have spent a lot of time and emotional and mental resources going the wrong way. It happens.

I tend to get pretty heady when I have time to think, and I had a lot of that today. Writing this post close to bedtime probably hasn't helped my coherency. Maybe some of this made sense to you and challenged you to stop getting distracted and renew your focus. Maybe it all only makes sense in my own head! But on the chance it helps someone else, I wanted to share my thoughts. I'd also like to share this encouragement: You can always renew your focus, no matter how distracted you got. And if you are my brother or sister in Christ, no matter what got you distracted and off course, no matter how long you wandered for, you can always come home.