“The Goldfish Or Me” 

What causes me to pay attention? Well, if the consequence of what I am listening to is important, I tend to pay closer attention. I recall going thru three weeks of “airborne training” back in the day. The instructors were teaching things that could actually keep you alive. I paid close attention when they showed you how to exit the aircraft forcefully and maintain the proper body position, how to check your canopy and pull your reserve if you didn’t have a full canopy, how to land and collapse your chute…. This was all important to me and I paid close attention and was not distracted… and I actually survived.

I just read that goldfish have a longer attention span than humans (9 seconds vs 8.25 seconds). My first reaction is how would you like to spend your life trying to calculate the attention span of a goldfish…. hmmmmmm. 

I also read that 70% of people deal with distraction. (ref. “Psychology Today”, Jan. 2026) Okay Dave, where are we going with this? 

Have you ever read something and been struck by all the interesting details it contains…. maybe things you had never noticed before? I just read the passage from 1^st Samuel from mass today. (1 Sam.1:9-20) I’ve read this passage before, but  never realized how much was going on in Hannah’s soul. Her inner turmoil is on display. Listen to this:

• “in her bitterness, she was weeping copiously …. remaining long at prayer”
• She cried out, “Oh Lord, have pity on the misery of your handmaid … remember me and do not forget me”
• Lord, “I’m an unhappy women.. in deep sorrow and misery”. Hannah was in desperation. 

I also noted how obtuse Eli the prophet was; he accused Hannah of being drunk, blurting out ”how long will you make a drunken show of yourself?” Wow, Eli you need to go back to “prophet school”.

So where does this leave us? Well, I have to admit that too often I rush thru a passage and don’t stop long enough to ponder what’s being said? In doing so, I can miss a lot that’s being said. Praying before I rush thru a passage is one important step to take. 

Pope John Paul II learned a wonderful prayer from his father as he began each day. “Holy Spirit make me quick to understand and remember. Show me the best way to learn. Give me wisdom to interpret, grace and clarity to speak. Help me to begin, to continue, and to finish my work well.”  If I say this prayer before I rush thru a passage hopefully I’ll glean more from it…. maybe I’ll be less distracted, maybe my attention span will even exceed that of a  goldfish.  And that would be very good news. Come Holy Spirit.