I’m still working on the interesting post I mentioned! In the meantime, I’d like to share a question I’ve been thinking over, along with a couple of pictures. And some music!

The title of this post is Where You Choose to Focus. Choosing implies more than one thing so today’s musical selection has two songs. The first is written and performed by the charming and sophisticated Cole Porter. The second is performed by the vaudeville duo, Butterbeans and Susie, and written by heaven knows who.  Variety is the spice of life! They’re both great songs.

This post is related to a podcast I was listening to, the name of which I can’t recall. The host made the point that 1) most of the time, we’re free to choose what we focus on and 2) you typically get more of the thing you choose to focus on in your life.

He used the example of listening to the radio channels that pilots use. On some frequencies, you might hear something funny or important or helpful.  But you know that if you choose to tune into the SOS channel, you’ll always hear someone having the worst moment of their life.

Overall, this sounds like solid advice. Focus on the good things in life!

But a troublesome thought occurs to me. Like everyone else, I want happiness in my life but I often entertain myself by reading about mysterious disappearances and intricate crimes because they’re so much more interesting. I may have already dedicated more than enough of my focus to guarantee I’ll be murdered by gaslight in a Victorian mansion.  But the question should still be considered: Is there a huge gulf between what you want in your life versus what you think is interesting?

Let’s do a little focus group! I bring you three photographs from the New York City Municipal Archives, and two questions:

1. Which image would you choose to focus on/which is most interesting?
2. Which of the images would you want to come into your life?

We can compare notes in the comments.  Or let me know if we should plan an immediate intervention for those of us who find the tenements irresistibly interesting.