A great picture means different things to different people. The greatest of pictures talk to us in very expressive ways depending on our sense of perception and the perspective we have in our attention at that very moment. 

Ever think of how you feel joyful and captivated by specific images and experiences? Yet, those same images barely produce a reaction within us if our attention and sense of perception are busy or colored with something else.

So, how do we get to a point in life when we can enjoy every image and experience to its fullest extent?

Sustained, long-term meditation can help with that.

Our life’s reflections can motivate us.

Once, at an airport, as soon as I got off the plane, I walked into a huge picture of a Jazz concert from 1960. It captured a moment towards the concert’s end when many people were getting autographs from the performers, apparently enthralled by them. It was a celebration of an event and performance that moved everyone. The picture vividly captured the thrill and joy in their eyes. 

That got me thinking – those people lived that experience in that moment. And that great moment has been captured and brought back to the attention of everyone who sees it for generations to come. 

But what about all the moments in our lives? What is the purpose and value of those moments? More importantly, how do millions of such great historical moments get carried over to the future? 

Enriched human attention creates and propagates memories.

Our lives are enriched by creations that outlive us and remain well past after we are gone. But to perceive them at that moment, our attention needs to have a keen sense of perception and an awareness of life’s nuances and subtleties. One might say that people are born with such an eye or ear for perceiving greatness. 

But another great way to develop that sense of perception is meditation, specifically the kind that purifies our attention by raising it to a higher level of consciousness within us. At that higher level, thoughts and confusions do not exist, only clarity and a keen sense of receptivity to everything around us without any judgment or reaction. 

When we meditate regularly, we repeatedly train our attention to go to that realm and enjoy the ultimate joy of our existence – our spirit that is in our attention and all the natural and beautiful things in this world. Over time, the negative and unnecessary thoughts, reactions, and reverberations drop out of our attention. 

We begin to perceive motivating experiences in their fullest flavor and intensity, which keep us all going. They help us rise above all our problems and difficulties. Our lives become more fulfilling and purposeful.

As more and more people take to spirituality and meditation in the quest for this clarified attention, civilization collectively evolves to realize the truth in a more mature fashion, and these get passed on to future generations.