Hey! Pay attention!

So as I mentioned before, since we are all part of a whole, and the only difference between each of us is the level at which we pay attention to our connection with the Oneness of all things, the concept of paying attention becomes pretty important!

Want to know how to start increasing your awareness and happiness? Pay attention. What do I mean by that? Ok, here's a story.

When I was 12 years old, my father took me to a teacher. We'll call him Draja Mickaharic (yes that one), though that's not his real name.

Draja sat me down and said, "Josh, it's time to begin your training."

"In what?", I asked.

"In life.", he answered.

"But I'm just a child," I pleaded, "don't I have some time before I have to do any of this spiritual stuff?"

Draja shook his head, "I don't teach children. For you, it's time to start learning. So I have an exercise for you."

I relented and looked up at him, expecting.

He went on, "I want you to pay attention."

I kept waiting, and after staring a him for what felt like a couple minutes, I asked, "Ok, I'm paying attention, what's the assignment?"

He smiled at me and then said seriously, "That is the assignment. Paying attention."

At that moment, I thought, "Oh, well I guess this spiritual stuff is a snap then!" However, I would not have said that to his face, so I pressed him further out loud, "Pay attention to what?"

"Pay attention to everything. How are you standing or sitting? How is your breathing? Is it correct? Who is around you? What are they carrying? What are they holding? How does the air smell? I want you to pay attention to all of it. People walk around in life like they are asleep. They don't see or know anything about what is around them. You need to wake up."

I nodded, as if he was telling me how to walk or how to eat with a spoon. (And he actually was telling me how to breath right after that in the conversation, so I wasn't too far off.) At last, when I could break in, I said to him (and I still laugh at myself for this), "So what is this lesson supposed to do for me?"

He smiled and nodded at me and said, "It will do a lot! But you may not know what it will do for another 20 years, or so. So, do you understand what your assignment is?"

Slightly disappointed, I nodded my assent.

He nodded back and said, "Great, I'll see you in a year!"

Now, 20 years later, after a zillion other lessons, and a zillion other trials and stories that I could tell, I know what the lesson was supposed to do for me: Everything.

It's the only lesson I ever needed. The rest is just commentary.

So, pay attention!