That which tethers

teth·er /ˈteT͟Hər/ verb

1. Tie (an animal) with a rope or chain so as to restrict its movement. "the horse had been tethered to a post"

2. Use (a smartphone) in order to connect a computer or other device to the internet. "check if Wi-Fi access is free in the lobby or tether your phone"

For this week’s deep thoughts from studio MBZ1, I am thinking of a retreat with the teacher on death and dying Stephen Jenkinson. What I heard him say about the illness cancer was something along the lines of:

“Cancer is growth untethered to responsibility.”

In the case of cancer, being untethered to responsibility means that the cancer kills the body of its host upon which it relies.

In the case of smartphone use, I am seeing folks who are harming their relationships with other people and even their own nervous systems. They are prioritizing the constant stimulation of checking a phone over healthy responsibility to what’s happening right in front of them.

How we are tethered, and how we choose to tether our attention is becoming big business these days. Creating strategies to counteract attention thieves is what we happen to do here at the studio.

If you haven’t met me yet, I am the lead meditation teacher at Studio MBZ1, producing audios for Radio MBZ1. This was the 6:01 email for free subscribers. For even deeper thoughts about gathering in one’s attention, and the tools we offer at the studio, see the members’ 5:55 email.

Thanks for tuning in.

-Gena Bean