How the World Ends

Contemplating  “How the World Ends”                                               

In her book Pilgrim at Tinker Creek Annie Dillard mentions the idea that the universe looks more like a great thought than a great machine. She says, "The question of who is thinking the thought is more fruitful than the question of who made the machine, for a machinist can of course wipe his hands and leave, and his simple machine still hums; but if the thinker’s attention strays for a minute, his simplest thought ceases altogether." This idea of God’s amazing and loving ability to keep the universe in existence by sheer thought really catches my attention. Especially since I can hold an uninterrupted thought for what, 30 seconds?

1.   What do you think of the idea of God keeping everything together by thought?

2.   What’s your attention span?  How long do you think you can hold a thought?  Try it.

3.   What tends to distract you?  How would you label these distractions (worries, fears, regrets, planning, ego, etc)?

4.   How might your day be different if you could give complete attention to everyone you met and everything you did?