Mindfulness, 

concentration, 

or meditative concentration?

Mindfulness is being aware of what we are doing and of what is happening around us. When planting seeds in the garden, I am aware of the feel of the dirt, the seed’s firmness, the hose at my feet. I am mindful of the laughter of children nearby, the songs of birds in the trees, the warmth of the sun on my back, and the changing light pattern caused by the clouds. 

Concentration is choosing what I will focus on and remaining focused on that. Holding the seedling, I look for a good spot. Digging a hole, I concentrate on my spade. Watering the seed, I make sure the amount is just right. And the children, the birds, the sun, the moving shadows? I appreciate all of them but I do not become distracted by them. 

Meditative concentration, which requires even more effort, takes concentration to a higher level. It enables us to focus solely on the object or sound that will enable us to fulfill our spiritual aspirations.

How to know if your practice . . .

Lost opportunities have the power to haunt. 

Some years ago, a woman related something that happened when her daughter was young.

While checking out in a grocery store, she heard the woman at the next register saying she did not have enough money to pay for all her groceries. Planning how she was going to get her daughter and her own groceries to her car, the young mother realized—too late—that if she had not been so self-absorbed, she could have offered to help pay for the other woman’s groceries.

Years later, her oversight still haunts her. That young mother is now a loving grandmother, thoughtful of everyone she encounters. Like all of us, she has regrets. One of them is how years before, failing to notice what was happening in someone else’s life, she missed the opportunity to provide assistance.

How easy it is for each of us to become so preoccupied with our own lives that we fail to notice situations in the lives of others.

And so, not paying attention, we miss an opportunity to do good.