Not liking what we see,

we can always stop looking. 

The distractions we encounter seem boundless: short-lived products crammed floor to ceiling on superstore shelves; waiting-room magazines discussing everything from gossip to sports to politics scattered on tables and stacked in wall displays; ceiling-hung news-reporting TVs everywhere we turn in airports and restaurants. All shouting “Look at me!” All vying for our attention. All luring us in. What’s a person to do! Instead of stewing over poorly made junk, the latest political squabbles, the news headlines we cannot do anything about, just look away. Averting our attention, we block the visual “noise” while protecting our pure mind. How do we look away? By distracting ourselves. We could change our focus by turning to something familiar and calming. Or, better still, we could replace the raucous dialogue racing through our mind to the soothing, inspiring sound of “Amituofo.”