One Apple A Day #683 - concentration
To me, these days going from the 27th to the 31st have always felt weird. It as if this year is done, so there's nothing more to add. At the same time, the new one is not here yet, so I have to wait before I can start anything new.
I like to think about these five days as an opportunity to slow down and reflect. But then, I don't. I don't know, maybe because my energy is low, or because it's the only time of the year where I can reconnect with people I love. Or perhaps it's because the festivities disrupt my routine.
Whatever the reason, I struggle to focus and concentrate. My space is full of half-read, half-written and half-done things.
Two days ago, I was reading an old and small Italian publication about yoga, shiatsu and martial arts that has been lying on my desk for a while. It's a few pages essay, and I thought it was the perfect solution to keep me away from my laptop for an hour or two.
Who would have thought that I would have spent the whole time highlighting half of the rows?
Anyway, a thought, in particular, got my attention. It is part of an article on shiatsu by Alfredo D'Angelo.
"Concentration is the dynamic reunification of all the constituent parts of the human essence." (translation is mine)
I know he was talking about pressure in shiatus, yet these few words really hit me. Concentration is the act of bringing things into or about a central point. So, to concentrate means to bring all of me, not only my thoughts, around a centre. It means to align my mind, body, heart and soul around a single point.
That may explain why I struggle so much these days. I'm trying to focus my mind, but all the other parts of me are distracted. It won't work.
Only if I bring all the parts together, I can achieve the focus I need to create.