Greeted by a breezy chill and surrounding dampness this campervan morning. The early morning smell of the earths out breath drying damp soil fills the air, an occasional glimpse of a subdued watery sun. The sky a mashup of clouds crawling slowly across the sky. Shimmering leaves in the breeze entertain the eyes and the ears. Half a dozen or so crows sit preening high in the ash, trying to catch some warmth from a reluctant sun. Relative quiet for a Wednesday, crow calls, far off cockerel cries, other birds remain scarce, which apparently is usual for August and the close of summer. The sky darkens and rain begins to fall, on the wind at first, but with the threat of worsening in the sky and in the air. The light shifting from opening to threatening. The breeze is up, heralding a shift and as if on cue in begins to worsen and a veil of rain begins to fall. The oak doing its job for now. Reflecting on yesterdays drumming work and more of the same today. I came across the work of Kevin Kelly yesterday and a quote struck me :
“ In a world of abundance, the only scarcity is human attention.”
The quote was created in response to economics, information systems and the abundance of information now available and the limitations of our attention. The limit of our resources and the overwhelming nature of information that we are bombarded with. To the point that AI or algorithms or someone else makes the decisions as to what we see. How we are sometimes deliberately overwhelmed in order that a certain message is placed in front of us. It’s been rattling around with me since reading it, the scarcity of human attention, but more on a personal level. The scarcity of attention for the self. How, when surrounded by an abundance of evidence and tools we fail to pay attention to ourselves. How in the abundance of everything we lose sight of us and what’s good for us. Lots to think about in this one. Lovely days people.
“A great way to understand yourself is to seriously reflect on everything you find irritating in others.” Kevin Kelly.
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