Pay attention.

I love how the English language has nailed the expression. "Pay". In French it is "Give", in Greek as well. But the English are right on the nose.

Attention is the most expensive, sought out commodity. It's not money. It is where you put your gaze on, who you listen to.

I will not even touch the Quvantic theories saying that by paying attention to something, its wavelength, vibrations change, because a) I am not a scientist b)it is a theory .

But think about all the commercials, that try to be smart, the way money is thrown for 10 seconds of our gaze. The cookies in your browsers, the analytics, the marketing tools, schools and strategies.

We could not sell the biggest diamond you and me if we had it, because we do not belong to the right channels ( cutter, reputable provider and so forth). It is not the product that has importance, but how you sell it to someone. And it does not matter how talented you are or smart, if people cannot pay attention to you.

Either because you are short, old and female, female and ugly, or whatever misconceptions rule our world.

I think the biggest well kept secret is to draw the attention where you want, and in things you want. That is why governments pay so much money to the Media, or have- in certain countries- their old classmates at the helm of big TV radio and publishing corporations.

With Covid, we felt the amount of information that was "panicking us" overwhelming, yet the information that could have been more independent ( after all corona viruses pre-existed that one) very scarce and immediately shut down.Facebook used "independent" fact checkers and judging by the ones they used for Greece, they used a group of young males known in the past to shut down anyone providing proof they were wrong, mocking them, annulling thus their impartiality and the objectivity needed for a fact checker. Or a journalist.

But don't let me get started on the lost art of presenting all the facts, and keeping one's mind to him or herself when running a story of public interest.

I don't want or intend to be politicized in this post, The Covid subject is one of its kind and I will or maybe not, write about it once I have the desire to bring in links and have a conversation. But this is not the time.

Attention is studied in neuromarketing, psychology. Attention is what makes plants grow, and children thrive. Neglect has huge consequences to little beings.

Attention is free, and for us mere mortals that do not own a huge company that can afford studies and softwares, more and more hard to keep.15 seconds tik toks, Sensational titles,

Some people crave for it. They find something to hang on to to define themselves and get the attention of the rest. Mental disease, sexual orientation, a talent.

We all need attention, that is a fact. But the ways and tools we have deviced as children vary.

Some sulk, in order to be asked what is wrong. Others yell, when felt not respected and bypassed. Others criticize, automatically putting themselves above the other person, insinuating and propagating a mentality that if you "open up" you are at fault as it is anyone's right to shit on you. Something like oh you opened your front door, I have a right to come take a dump in your living room, on your dog.

Jokes aside, attention is taken from us by noisy people, people who talk non stop, people who make everything about them. A marriage denude of attention will fail.

We need that attention for ourselves, it is energy. Try to pay attention to a 3 year old ramblings all day, and see how that works for you.

Our attention is a commodity. It is currency.

We want to be entertained, we don't want to think about our lives too much if our lives have not turned the way we hoped they would, or worse, tried.

Try to look at the world in a different way for a day. Look around you, what gets your attention, was it intentional, unintentional? How did it make you feel? Was it something that involved buying something?

Was it something speaking to your fears?

How much of yourself do you share online and how much of the things you fear you see vs the ones that make you happy?

Try it for a day.