A call to pay attention
Growing the Material Value in a Digital World
When we gather students around for a class, instructions, or a family meeting, we want them to pay attention. Because of our inability to pay, they can be found empty handed with their minds drift into stasis, rather than focus. The cost of any knowledge is attention. And we want our students to learn and so we require this. But even during the most fun activities, their attention can wander off into nowhere land. However, I have found that despite this problem, tabletop role playing games capture my young players' minds and with that pattern, I think there is something to learn.
I teach and lead tabletop role playing games for kids and adults. With a five minute break in between, my games last 2 hours. Although it took a little bit of coaching, my young players pay attention during the game.
Before I share what I practice, we need to reconcile that we have an attention deficit and I’m not talking about ADD and ADHD. We are distracted. Our screens have taken on the role of 24/7 information and entertainment, making sure to deliver constant notifications to let us know what we missed while away from the phone. In all honesty, this habit is draining our attention. We may have awareness around so many causes but this is sacrificing our ability to be present in the moment. Attention is indeed a rare commodity and also craved by those who believe us to be in charge; our children.
Tabletop Role Playing Games (Ttrpgs) require us to sit across from each other, pencils and paper in hand and dialogue with one another in a creative activity. Furthermore, real dice are rolled upon a table making the wonderful “clickety clackety” sound grounding us into the present. I have noticed that when I play, my mind and body are focused on one thing - the game. This means I am paying attention to those at the table with me as we tell a story. When I play, this surge of attention fuels the young players to pay attention to the story and the game.
Attention is a resource that invests in us by refueling our ability to pay more attention.
Realize that although we live in a world that grows increasingly digital, we are still material creatures. Screens drain our attention away from the material and when asked to engage, we are pulling out empty pockets. Our children need us to be present. Despite digital tools, my table hosts pencils, paper, and real dice. Believe me, they are shiny and fun to roll. And something awakes my spirit when the pencil scratches my own writing across the lovely blank paper. I make notes. I draw figures and maps. I record stories.
Even though ttrpgs are played in our imagination (no I am not really an elven ranger of the forest)), they are also a relief from the world that requires our attention. This helps us to “get away from it all.” By giving us this break from the pressures of the world (playing as an elven ranger) they refuel our ability to attend to details of our mundane lives.
Ttrpgs are intuitive, guiding us to recognize patterns in ourselves through role play. This can be incredibly transformative to our behavior. And with the blend of the sensory, they treat us the same way music nurtures our souls with the very sounds we made.
In other words, it gives us exactly what we put into it (plus a little extra given the collective nature of the game.)
Everyone gets a spotlight at the table. When we pay attention to each other, we refuel ourselves in community. The light we shine on each other's faces reflects back to ourselves. This is the way of the sojourner.
What to do about our waning attention? Give and you will receive. Ttrpgs expressly accomplish this without much effort because they exercise our attention. Believe that this benefit transfers to other important aspects of your life - relationships, knowledge and faith, as well as how we treat our children . When you gather young players around the table and pay attention, believe that they will discover a wealth of imagination and creativity in themselves and each other.
May your story continue!