rabbi allen lew in his book, "this is real and you are completely unprepared", writes, "the thoughts that carry our attention away [during prayer or meditation] are never insignificant thoughts and they never arise at random. we lose our focus precisely because these thoughts need our attention and we refuse to give it to them. this is why they keep sneaking up on our attention and stealing it away. this is how it is that we come to know ourselves as we settle deeply into the act of prayer [or meditation]". according to philosopher damon young, distraction is chiefly an inability to identify, attend to or attain what is valuable, even when we are hard-working or content.