Where we look

I watched a delightful video where a performer moved in such a way that her umbrella looked like it was enchanted, trying to escape her grasp.

Curious, I watched again in slow motion.

Part of the sleight of hand was this: wherever the performer looked, the viewer looked there too. And attention was always given to the hand that was still, not the hand that was in motion manipulating the umbrella. The performer was directing the viewer where to look by modeling it herself.

This all happened seamlessly, naturally, and unconsciously. It can happen this way in daily life, too.

We can easily become focused on where other people are looking. Perhaps it’s some kind of ancient wisdom. Attending to the same oncoming stampede or the same ripe figs — this seems like useful hard-wiring.

But these days, there are a lot more things to capture our attention than animals and fruits.

The caution is this: not all spotlight operators are the same. Not all of them have our best interest. Not everything in the limelight is worthy of our attention. And when we’re not careful, we forget our ability — even our responsibility — to direct our own gaze.