Attentiveness

Tomorrow at the Seminary we will be talking about attentiveness in our Spiritual Formation class.  I admit that I've been inattentive too many times.  Attentiveness surely has to do with making full use of the five senses. For example, what am I seeing, not just looking at, but really seeing?  I rarely really see the sky, for example. The website, gratefulness.org, contains a video, "A Good Day" that has made me pay some attention to what I see.  It is a website and video which I greatly recommend.  Too frequently I'm not paying attention to what I'm seeing, hearing, tasting, touching and smelling.  Today I had lunch with an friend of 45+ years.  He was talking about his younger days and wishing he had paid better attention to some of the decisions he made years ago. Paying attention is not only a present reality but it also has long term consequences.  Attentiveness is being sensitive to both the big picture as well as the details.  Paying attention seems to me to be at the heart of spirituality.  St. Benedict's rule begins with the word, "listen."  If I'm not paying attention, how will I know when God is giving my a nudge?