We begin to realise that developing our capacity for attention, which is what makes us human, takes time. It is like developing good muscular health. There is something called muscle atrophy, the wasting away of muscle mass. When people are sick and they have to lie in bed for long stretches of time, their muscles usually begin to fade away due to one thing – lack of exercise, or sometimes poor nutrition. And the muscle can look then, in quite a short space of time, as if it is lost, it has just gone away. But it hasn’t actually gone away; it has just become much smaller. But it can be rebuilt. And good therapy, a healthy attitude to life, a spirit of hopefulness, and help from people who can help you, can rebuild that muscle so that you can walk, move, stretch, and be in your body as you are meant to be. The same is true of the mind and of our capacity for attention.
( Attention and Love 1 by Laurence Freeman OSB )
