January 18, 2012 – Pay Attention

What men call knowledge,
is the reasoned acceptance of false appearances.
Wisdom looks behind the veil and sees.

Sri Aurobindo

(Thoughts and Aphorisms 7)

Pay Attention

If one does not pay attention, things slide very easily into a hole: one takes a false step, then slips and suddenly bumps against the bottom of the hole. Then one asks oneself, “But how did this come about? What happened?” Simply a false step: you did not take care, you allowed that part of the being to draw you into its own field; because you did not pull it out of its way, did not compel it to follow you, it now drags you back instead.

If one wants to lead the spiritual life, one must not be three-fourths asleep. It is necessary to be wide awake and very attentive, otherwise you are like a little boar upon a river or a great sea with terrible currents, and if you are not alert, if you do not pay close heed to these currents, if you relax, relax your vigilance, all of a sudden you find that you are at the other end from where you wanted to go! You are carried away, just like that, quite naturally. “Why, yes, I wanted to go there and I find myself here!”

The Mother

The Great Adventure