Exploring Concentration

This morning I randomly picked a chapter about Concentration out of the book- The Inner Game of Tennis by W. Timothy Gallwey. This is somewhat ironic due to the fact that I am a horrible tennis player and today is my first team meeting for coaching football. As I read my mind began to think about several things- What do I still need to do to get ready for school Monday? What do I still need to prepare for the Football meeting? Not only was my mind wandering, but my ears were listening to the TV show that my daughter was watching in the other room, and the sound of the fan from upstairs as my son was still asleep. All the while my sense of smell was focusing on the CinnCredible rolls that were on the counter making me hungry. Along with these little distractions to my reading, my legs were feeling sore from the workout that I did 3 days ago. Back to the reading...Concentration..according Gallwey it is the act of focusing one's attention-keeping the mind in the now and here. This brings to light how difficult it really is to focus for an extended period of time.

In this picture you can see a concentration by Kole as he is about to hit the ball, you can see a concentration by the catcher getting ready to catch the ball, and you can see a concentration by the Umpire getting ready to make a call. In this picture you can feel the focus and calmness of all three people. There is no doubt that concentration is complex, but it can be learned through practice. This makes it clear to me that when we allow our whole body, mind, and spirit to focus completely on the task at hand- that we can experience a calmness and a greater sense of accomplishment!