Become Aware

I came across this image and quote on the WFLDP Facebook page this morning, and I liked it:

"If you do not pay attention to what has your attention, you will give it more attention than it deserves." – David Allen

In my (very) short journey toward being more mindful, I’ve learned that being aware of what you are focused on is pretty important. If you’re aware of what has your attention, of what you are focused on, you can be mindful of how much attention it really needs, and shift your focus to what’s really important if you need to.

Especially in the current situation, but also in the fire environment in general, the ability to recognize when we get focused on things that aren’t critical is itself a critical skill to have. Think about all the times you’ve “been in the weeds,” or focused on something so intently that you missed seeing the bigger picture, and missed ”seeing the forest for the trees.”

I know that personally I’ve had that happen a few times… and some of those times have been learning moments, where something didn’t go right because I was focused too intently on the “wrong” thing, and missed something important.

Now think about being able to recognize when you are starting to focus too much on one thing, or maybe multiple things… and being able to mentally pull back, and really be aware of what else deserves your attention in that moment.

(Mann Gulch fire, USFS)

I sometimes think back to the Mann Gulch fire in Montana in 1949… imagine those crewmembers that ran past Wag Dodge’s escape fire, and what might have changed if they had been able to take a mindful moment to really see what he was doing. We can all imagine what had their full attention: Getting up the hill and out of there, with little or no room for thought of anything else.

That’s just one part of mindfulness. I think we can all agree that it’s a pretty valuable skill for fire and aviation managers at all levels, from tool-swingers on the line, to dispatchers in an office, to overhead on IMTs and in large organizations.

I challenge us all to take a moment today to think about what has our attention right now, and become aware of it in a more deliberate, mindful way.

Hang in there everyone… to quote a lyric from songwriter Jason Isbell, “It gets easier, but it never gets easy.”

Cheers,
Justin

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Justin Vernon is a regular guest contributor on our blog. Justin works for the United States Forest Service and is a member of Sparks for Professional Reading Program Change. Check out his Chasing Fire blog. All expressions are those of the author.