32 " FLOW
problems, reading one of the five newspapers or the earmarked sections
of books on her daily schedule—or just asking questions, watching
curiously what is going on, and planning her next task. Very little of her
time is spent on the routine functions of life. Chatting or socializing out
of mere politeness is done graciously, but avoided whenever possible.
Each day, however, she devotes some time to recharging her mind, by
such simple means as standing still for fifteen minutes on the lakeshore,
facing the sun with eyes closed. Or she may take her hounds for a walk
in the meadows on the hill outside town. E. is so much in control of her
attentional processes that she can disconnect her consciousness at will
and fall asleep for a refreshing nap whenever she has a moment free.
E.’s life has not been easy. Her family became impoverished after
World War I, and she herself lost everything, including her freedom,
during World War II. Several decades ago she had a chronic disease her
doctors were sure was fatal. But she recovered everything, including her
health, by disciplining her attention and refusing to diffuse it on unpro
ductive thoughts or activities. At this point she radiates a pure glow of
energy. And despite past hardships and the intensity of her present life,
she seems to relish thoroughly every minute of it.
The second person who comes to mind is in many ways the
opposite of E., the only similarity being the same unbending sharpness
of attention. R. is a slight, at first sight unprepossessing man. Shy,
modest to the point of self-effacement, he would be easy to forget
immediately after a short meeting. Although he is known to only a few,
his reputation among them is very great. He is master of an arcane
branch of scholarship, and at the same time the author of exquisite verse
translated into many languages. Every time one speaks to him, the image
of a deep well full of energy comes to mind. As he talks, his eyes take
in everything; every sentence he hears is analyzed three or four different
ways even before the speaker has finished saying it. Things that most
people take for granted puzzle him; and until he figures them out in an
original yet perfectly appropriate way, he will not let them be.
Yet despite this constant effort of focused intelligence, R. gives the
impression of restfulness, of calm serenity. He always seems aware of the
tiniest ripples of activity in his surroundings. But R. does not notice
things in order to change them or judge them. He is content to register
reality, to understand, and then, perhaps, to express his understanding.
R. is not going to make the immediate impact on society that E. has.
But his consciousness is just as ordered and complex; his attention is
stretched as far as it can go, interacting with the world around him. And
like E., he seems to enjoy his life intensely.