Most of us treat attention as a luxury—something we manage when distractions allow—but Oliver reframes it as our actual vocation, the work we're meant to do simply by being alive. The word "endless" cuts deeper than it first appears: she's not promising that mastering attention will free us from the effort, but rather that the effort itself *is* the point, the thing that makes us fully human. When you notice how a particular light falls on your kitchen table, or really listen to what a friend is saying beneath their words, you're not preparing for some more important task—you're doing the most important task. That shift from seeing attention as a means to an end transforms even mundane moments into genuine work, genuine purpose.