What's Moonwalking Through Your Playing Field?

Ha! Hilarious. Rewind.

How could I have missed it? A bear? A moonwalking bear? Haha...Huh?

HOLY SHIT! There's a moonwalking bear. Right there.

No way! Rewind it again, but from the real beginning, not the filmmaker's fake rewind.

Holy crap. I totally missed it. I really missed a friggin' moonwalking bear cruising through the middle of the playing field. That's crazy. Crazy funny. Right?

Right?

You're probably thinking, "Who cares? So what. It's a stupid parlor trick, no more interesting or savvy than getting duped in a game of Three Card Monte."

But, what if it is more significant? What if the real reason why this public service announcement has been viewed on YouTube almost a million times in the past couple of weeks is because there is something about it that is unnerving us, shaking us from our stupor?

Think about this video metaphorically. What does the bear represent to you? What large, looming presence is moonwalking its way through your playing field? What are you focused on while it's cruising through, unnoticed?

As I ponder those same questions, I am horrified by the notion that it is impossible to escape the trap that this clip utilizes: the inability for the human mind to focus on more than one thing at a time. It is especially disturbing because I can think of many times in my life when I have found comfort in that very same notion.

In fact, in learning how to meditate, my teacher said to me, "If you should find your mind fixating on something during your meditation, gently shift your focus to something outside of your mind, like the sound of the room or the sensations of the body, and soon you will find yourself back in the meditative state."

This teaching was for me life-altering. For a person whose mind often fixates, I found the technique to be useful in and out of meditation. I was able release myself from the bondage of obsessive thoughts and behaviors. I was elated and relieved. It never occurred to me that there might be a more sinister way to use this information.

Of course, as I say this, a rush of examples too obvious to miss flood my mind.

How many times have we been distracted by scandal and celebrity gossip and missed enormously important world events? How many times have we let our vanity consume us while we ignored the depletion of the word's resources? How many times have we missed a loved one indicate to us, "I need your attention," while we worked late into the night?

I am guilty, too. I have been selfish, distracted, and vain, and I'm still not sure what to do about it. Since it is obvious to me now, for better or worse, that I can only put my attention on one thing at a time, I am overwhelmed by the vast choices that I have. I wonder where I should put my attention so that I can be most useful.

I suppose I will concentrate my efforts in areas where I believe my god-given talents will be best utilized, and I will continue to be grateful that I have choices and, perhaps, a bit more Awareness.