Where is Your Focus?

“How are you, Hank?”

“I’m doing well.”  He closed his notebook.  “Getting caught up on paperwork.  This weather is crazy, right?  Either we’re blasted because everyone has cabin fever, or we’re dead because no one wants to get out in the cold.”  He patted the stool next to his, “What’s new with you?”

“Don’t let me interrupt your bookkeeping.”  Jesse draped her jacket over a stool.  “I’m just getting out of the house to get a break from climbing the walls.  Kids are good.  Things have been a bit bumpy lately, but after a minor course correction,  I think we are headed in the right direction, again… for now.”  She shook her head.  “Parenting isn’t for sissies, Hank.”

He smiled and said, “Not even for the parents who have awesome kids like yours.”

“I’ll take that.  Thanks.”

 

Hank pointed to a 20-something sitting alone in the far corner.  His pint was half empty, and had long since gone flat.  His focus was on his phone.  “He’s an up and coming App Designer.  That kid is making a name for himself.  He sleeps and eats the stuff.  I wish I had that kind of focus.”

He looked up at the TV screen mounted in the corner above the bar to see an update on the most recent school shooting.

Hank nodded in the direction of two women sitting at a nearby table.  They were going over paint chips, fabric swatches and catalogs.  “Those two recently joined forces to open up a staging/interior design firm.  There aren’t enough hours in the day to meet the needs of their clients but, somehow, they’re getting it done.”

Jesse took a drink of her beer, and glanced at the TV in time to see the local news channel announce a new Amber Alert.

She looked at Hank and said, “I admire folks who know what it is that they love to do, and then apply all their energy to that thing.  It’s inspiring!”  She pointed to the opposite corner.  “What can you tell me about that fellow?”

“I don’t know much about him.  Keeps to himself.  He usually brings in some kind of geology books to study while he’s having a beer or two.  Mining engineer, maybe?  I don’t know, but he studies that stuff all the time.”

The newscaster casually mentioned opioid epidemic, sexual harassment, and AR-15, with less emphasis than he used when discussing the current weather forecast.

 

Hank shook his head and got up to walk around to the business side of the bar.  “You know, Jesse, working here gives me an opportunity to observe people.  I see where they apply their time, energy and focus.  The damn TV is always on, too, for those that like to keep up on what’s going on in the rest of the world.”

He grabbed a bar rag and started polishing the bar.  Jesse had long ago* noticed that he usually polished the bar when he was about to start explaining some insight about the human condition.  He said, “A few years back I had what you might call an epiphany.  I noticed that the more folks focused on outside stuff, the more the news got worse.  We love our distractions.  We are distracted by our phones, our jobs, our cars, our hair and nail color, our relationship status, our bank accounts, and the lack of or spectacular existence of our abs.”

He folded the rag, placed it on the bar and forcefully flattened the rag with his palm.  “Where do you think this world would be if folks applied the same kind of focus to parenting and family?”

 

*Hank, the bartender, makes several appearances on my other blog.