Quotes about Attention

No method nor discipline can supersede the necessity of being forever on the alert. What is a course of history, or philosophy, or poetry, no matter how well selected, [...] compared with the discipline of looking always at what is to be seen?

The poem of the world is uninterrupted, but few are the ears that hear it.

We are more anxious to speak than to be heard.

The bullet of your thought must have overcome its lateral and ricochet motion and fallen into its last and steady course before it reaches the ear of the hearer, else it may plow out again through the side of his head.

It's tempting, when confronted by political malfeasance, to become so absorbed with its symptom that we give too little attention to treating its cause.

If you watch what you think about, you won't have to watch what you talk about.

Pay attention to the people God puts in your path if you want to discern what God is up to in your life.

School, I never truly got the knack of. I could never focus on things I didn't want to learn.

Nothing is more pathetic than having a small character in a big assignment. Many of us don't want to give attention to our character, we just want the big assignment from God.

But in addition to spiritual matters, providing for your family's emotional needs must also remain a priority. One reason to avoid constantly coming home drained and depleted from too many hours of work is so you're not as likely to be touchy, impatient, and irritable around your family. Part of their emotional well-being depends on the pleasantness of your conversation, your ability to give them your full attention, and your quickness to be understanding and forgiving.

Details matter, it's worth waiting to get it right.

In high school I was very much involved in poetry. You cannot read a poem quickly. There's too much going on there. There are rhythms and alliterations. You have to read poetry slow, slow, slow to absorb it all.