This is an awareness test.

Focus, this is tough!

So, how did you do? It took me a couple of times. I watched a video similar to this for the first time in a safety leadership class for my job. The idea behind showing the video was to remind us that we need to be aware of unsafe circumstances in the work place. What I began to think about though, is the parallel of this video to my life and its reinforcement of some things I've been learning. Simply put, we see what we focus our attention on and in the process may miss other seemingly obvious things. When I watch this video while focusing on the white team passing the ball, I don't even see "bear" trying to moonwalk. How could I not see something so obvious!?

I've often used this question rhetorically as evidence to argue that I do not have a beautiful or athletic body. It seems like a completely logical, air tight conclusion. If I see that parts of my body are "fat" and/or "ugly" then how can someone say they aren't. I see my body with my own eyes, and our eyes don't lie...right? I used to think things were this black and white but I'm learning that this is not the case.

The more I obsessively focus on something the less I see of other things and the more I mold the image that I am "seeing." Our minds are mysteriously powerful and what we focus on, we see. If I focus on the fat on my legs, that is what I will see and the image becomes more distorted as my obsessions grow. This dedicated focus also distracts me from noticing other parts and functions of my body. Just like I would have sworn there was no "dancing bear" in the video above, I become convinced that my body essentially consists of the fat on my legs, because, in both cases, that is what I "see!"

In order to see the "Bear" in the video I had to first realize that the real goal was not to count the number of passes. Then I had to apply a different level of awareness and unbiased curiosity about what I was seeing. In the same way, in order for me to see my body in its true beauty, I have to realize that the ultimate goal is not to have a perfect body by societal standards. Then I have to practice awareness of my whole body and apply that unbiased curiosity combined with loving appreciation for what I experience. Like the video says at the end, "It's easy to miss something you're not looking for."