Session 11: Lunch - Work With Attention

Welcome back, my friend. This morning, we began Day 4 by looking at work in a different way. Instead of seeing work simply as something we have to get through, we considered the possibility that our work can become an offering to God. You chose one particular task and made a simple commitment: “Lord, I offer this work to You.”

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Now we have reached the middle of the day. Maybe your morning was productive. Maybe it was frustrating. Perhaps you accomplished a great deal. Perhaps interruptions changed everything you planned. Maybe you remembered to offer your work to God. Maybe you became so busy that you completely forgot. Whatever happened, this midday pause is your opportunity to return. That is becoming one of the rhythms of our week: remember, forget, and return. A monk experiences the same thing. He works, becomes absorbed in the task, and then the monastery bell rings. The bell interrupts him and calls him back to God. Think of this session as your bell. For the next thirty minutes, put down your tools. Close the computer if you can. Put your phone aside. Step away from your work. If you have your lunch with you, place it in front of you. Take a slow breath. [PAUSE - 10 SECONDS] And another. [PAUSE - 10 SECONDS] The work can wait. For these next few minutes, simply be here.

Blessing the Day's Labor

Before we eat, let us pray. Heavenly Father, thank You for the work You have placed before me today. Thank You for the abilities You have given me and for the opportunities I have to use them. Thank You for the people whose work makes my own life possible. Forgive me when I rush through my responsibilities without noticing You. Forgive me when I complain about tasks that can become opportunities to serve. Bless the work I completed this morning and the work still waiting for me this afternoon. Give me patience when things are difficult, attention when things are repetitive, and humility when things do not go according to my plans. As I stop now to receive this meal, remind me that I am more than what I produce. My work can wait. You are here. Amen.

Ten Minutes of Silent Eating

We will now eat in silence for ten minutes. Today, I want you to practice the same quality we are bringing to our work: attention. Do not rush through this meal so you can get back to your responsibilities. For these ten minutes, eating is your responsibility. Notice the food. Notice its temperature, texture, smell, and taste. Chew slowly. Put your fork down occasionally. Resist the urge to look at your phone. If thoughts about work begin appearing, let them pass. You may suddenly remember an email you need to send or a task you forgot. Unless it is truly urgent, it can wait. This is an important discipline. We often treat whatever thought appears in our mind as something that requires immediate attention. It usually does not. Let the thought come and go. Return to the meal. Return to the present moment. Return to God. Occasionally say quietly in your heart: “Thank You for this moment.” We will now eat together in silence. [SILENCE - 10 MINUTES]

The Spiritual Value of Manual Work

Welcome back. Monastic life has always placed great value on ordinary physical work. Throughout history, monks have farmed land, baked bread, copied manuscripts, built furniture, tended gardens, cooked meals, cleaned rooms, cared for animals, welcomed guests, and performed countless other tasks. Why would manual work matter spiritually? One reason is that work can bring us into the present moment. When your hands are doing something simple and your attention is fully there, the mind can become quieter. Think about gardening. Washing dishes. Sweeping a floor. Cooking. Painting. Repairing something. Walking. Folding laundry. These tasks can feel boring when we are trying to escape them, but they can become peaceful when we stop fighting them. The monk learns not to ask constantly, “How quickly can I finish this?” Instead, he learns to ask, “How faithfully can I do this?” That is a very different way to work.

Work as Service

Saint Benedict does not view work simply as personal accomplishment. Work serves the community. Someone cooks because other people need to eat. Someone cleans because others need a clean place to live. Someone tends the garden because the community needs food. Someone welcomes guests because hospitality matters. This changes the meaning of work. Much of our frustration with work comes from thinking only about ourselves. Do I enjoy this? Am I being recognized? Am I being paid enough? Does anyone appreciate what I am doing? Some of those questions can be legitimate, especially when dealing with unfair or unhealthy situations. But there is another question worth asking: “Who does my work serve?” Maybe your work serves your family by providing income. Perhaps it serves customers. Students. Patients. Employees. Coworkers. Clients. Your community. Maybe the work you are doing today seems insignificant, but someone benefits because you did it well. When work becomes service, even ordinary tasks gain meaning.

One Thing at a Time

This morning, we talked about doing one thing at a time. How did that go? Perhaps you discovered how difficult it is. We have trained ourselves to divide our attention constantly. We look at our phones while talking to people. We answer messages while eating. We check email while working on another task. We begin one thing before finishing another. The result is that we can spend an entire day doing many things without being fully present for any of them. Monastic work offers another possibility. Be where your hands are. If you are washing a dish, wash the dish. If you are writing an email, write the email. If someone is speaking to you, listen to the person. If you are eating, eat. This sounds almost too simple. But try it and you may discover how rarely we actually live this way. Attention is a form of respect. When you give something your attention, you are saying: “This matters enough for me to be here.”

How Did You Work This Morning?

Now look back over your morning. Do not ask first how much you accomplished. Ask something different: How did I work? Did you work peacefully or frantically? Did you give attention to what you were doing, or were you constantly distracted? Did you become irritated when someone interrupted you? Did you treat people as obstacles between you and your tasks? Did you cut corners because you wanted to finish quickly? Did you complain? Did you become obsessed with getting everything done? Or perhaps there were moments when you worked calmly, carefully, and with gratitude. Ask yourself: “Did my work draw me toward God this morning, or did I allow it to pull me away from Him?” [SILENCE - 1 MINUTE] Whatever answer comes, simply notice it. There is still an entire afternoon ahead.

Choose One Task for Full Attention

Now think about the work waiting for you this afternoon. Choose one specific task. It does not need to be important. In fact, an ordinary task may be better. Perhaps answering an email. Cleaning something. Making a phone call. Preparing dinner. Finishing paperwork. Driving somewhere. Organizing something. Caring for another person. When you begin that task, pause. Take one breath. Then say quietly: “Lord, I give this task my full attention, and I offer it to You.” Then try to do only that task. Put the phone away if possible. Close unnecessary windows on the computer. Stop switching between things. Give the task your attention until it is finished or until you genuinely need to stop. Your goal is not speed. Your goal is presence. [SILENCE - 30 SECONDS] Choose your task now.

Serve Someone Through Your Work

There is one more practice for this afternoon. Find one way for your work to become service. Perhaps complete something that will make another person's day easier. Clean something without being asked. Help a coworker. Prepare something carefully for your family. Return a call you have been avoiding. Give someone your complete attention. Do something useful without needing recognition. Remember yesterday's lesson on humility: the work no one notices may be some of the most valuable work you do. Ask yourself: “Who can I quietly serve through my work this afternoon?” [SILENCE - 30 SECONDS]

Closing Prayer

Let us close our midday session in prayer. Heavenly Father, thank You for this pause in the middle of my work. Thank You for reminding me that life is not simply a race to finish one task so I can begin another. Teach me to work with attention. When my mind becomes scattered, bring me back to the task before me. When I become impatient, slow me down. When I become frustrated by interruptions, remind me that sometimes the person interrupting me may be more important than the work being interrupted. Help me see my work as service. Show me who benefits from the things I do, even when I never see the result. Protect me from laziness, but also protect me from making productivity into an idol. Give me the wisdom to work when it is time to work and to stop when it is time to stop. May the work of my hands, my mind, and my heart become an offering to You and a blessing to others. Amen.


Remain quiet for one final minute. Let your unfinished work remain unfinished for sixty more seconds. You do not need to rush back. Simply sit with God. [SILENCE - 1 MINUTE] When you return to your afternoon, remember these simple words: Be where your hands are. Do the task before you. Give it your attention. Offer it to God. And whenever possible, let your work make someone else's life a little better. We will meet again this evening to look back over the day's labor, give thanks for what was accomplished, release what remains unfinished, and learn the equally important monastic discipline of rest.