Today’s Excerpt:

Sentence stem: “One thing I want to focus on more is…”

You might want to focus on learning a musical instrument, doing your homework really well, reading a good book, or listening carefully to a friend.

Reflect:

• What’s one thing you could change to make it easier to focus on this one thing?

Optional Story: Arjuna
We’ll insert this story again here on Saturday, but if it works better for you today, feel free to read it now and discuss it further then.

In a story from the Hindu epic The Mahabharata, a boy named Arjuna and his fellow students were learning archery with guidance from their teacher. The teacher took a wooden bird and placed it in a tree far in the distance.

The students all gathered around the teacher who told them to hit the eye of the wooden bird with their arrow. As each student stepped forward the teacher asked, “Before you release the arrow, tell me what you see.”

The first student stepped forward and responded, “I see the leaves and the tree and the branches.” Hearing this, the teacher did not let the student shoot.

The next student stepped forward and said, “I see the wooden bird, other birds in the same tree, and the sky beyond.” Hearing this, the teacher did not let the student shoot.

Each student stepped forward with a similar response, naming everything they could see in the distance surrounding the wooden bird. Each time the teacher did not let the student shoot.

Finally, Arjuna stepped forward and the teacher asked, “What do you see?”

“I can only see the bird’s eye.” With that, the teacher told Arjuna to release his arrow. It flew through the air, striking the wooden bird directly in the eye.

Discuss:

• What would happen if you pursued your goal with that level of focus?