I think we’re distracted. I think there are things that we are supposed to be focusing on that we’re not, and I think that our distraction is part of what is hurting us.

In the course of the past twenty-four hours, I’ve been presented with multiple instances that seemed to be linked to this problem of distraction. To say that we are distracted assumes at least two presuppositions: 1) there is something that we are supposed to be doing that we aren’t doing, and 2) certain things are worth paying attention to, while other things –those things that garner our attention so much of the time– are not what we should be paying attention to.

So, let me give you an example: I belong to an organization with an express purpose that we are not accomplishing, as an organization. The purpose of the organization is agreed upon, inasmuch as all of the members of the organization know that we are supposed to be doing this certain thing. But, very few of the members –including myself I must admit– are doing what we know we ought to be doing. Unfortunately, this doesn’t seem to bother very many of the members at all. Admittedly, while I know we are supposed to be doing this certain thing, I find it a hard thing to do and so I am not really working at accomplishing it, neither on a personal level nor as a member of the organization.

Recently, within this organization, an argument has arisen among members of the organization as to what certain members of the organization should or should not be doing. This argument has attracted a lot of attention and it has been very fiercely and emotionally debated by members on both sides of the issue. It seems that certain members of the organization are doing a certain thing that other members of the organization believe should not be done.

IT IS VERY CRITICAL TO NOTE THAT THE ISSUE OF DEBATE IN THIS ORGANIZATION HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE EXPRESS PURPOSE OF THE ORGANIZATION, WHICH VERY FEW OF THE MEMBERS SEEM TO CARE AT ALL ABOUT.

Can you see the distraction here? We know what we ought to be doing, but we aren’t doing it. Instead, we do other things, or worse, we look at others who aren’t doing what they should be doing and we point fingers at them.

Why don’t we do what we ought to be doing? Maybe those things are hard, so we don’t. Maybe I ought to be at the gym more often, but instead I am binge-watching Netflix. Maybe I ought to be more focused at work, but instead I troll Facebook at my desk. Maybe I ought be spending more time with my family, but instead I spend more time playing on my Xbox.

Maybe the problem is that “the oughts” are unattractive while “the shouldn’ts” seem so appealing. What would I get out of completing a season on Netflix? Nothing. Watching an entire season of a show on Netflix gets you nothing –at least it’s never gotten me anything. What would I get out of spending that time working on my physical fitness? A longer life? A greater quality of life? Could I climb a flight of stairs without getting winded? Perhaps.

We can’t have what is great, because we are content with what is only good.

Anyway, I think I’m starting to get distracted in the construction of this entry. I wonder if you are distracted at all?