I get Busy Brain Syndrome. The symptoms of BBS include multitasking, stressing about trying to get everything done, and inevitably dropping the ball on something because I’ve over-committed my time. Does this sound like you? Help is at your fingertips, and you don’t have to pay a guru to learn to overcome BBS.
Granted, it’s hard to turn off the myriad inputs around us. There’s much to be worried about in our crazy world right now – and much to be thankful for. I tend to err on the side of thankfulness, because that is something I can control. The rest of the world, not so much. This is where the power of amazement comes in.
Many BIG things in the world amaze me. When you’re cruising along at 35,000 feet, do you ever marvel that a plane can hang in the air? (Okay, if you’re afraid of flying, forget I mentioned it!) Isn’t it astounding that explorers in ships so small, they could fit in a grammar school gym, rounded the globe, not knowing what to expect or if they could find their way home? And moon shots, or any space travel that matches ship A with something B. The physics behind calculating the Earth’s orbit and launch trajectory and appropriate path of flight boggle my mind.
Humans can do amazing things when we have the will and the drive. We can also create amazing messes when we focus on me-first and I’m-too-busy and I’m-so-important – and BBS. When this frustrates me, I turn my amazement to face nature. That’s the source of my meditation.
Little things are truly wonderful. Isn’t it a miracle that something as small as a period on the written page can grow to be a five-foot-tall plant? How do hummingbirds find their way from Mexico to northern Oregon every year? The conditions that make a blue sky cloud up or the clouds morph from a flat-scape to voluptuous sculpted shapes are a marvel.
When I find myself too scattered and brain-busy to focus on my creative work, I lift my eyes and look out my office window. I appreciate the blooming flowers – daffodils right now. I check out how much more unfurled the Japanese maple’s leaves are today than they were yesterday. I watch the robins tap at the ground in their ever-efficient circles, gathering worms and bugs.
I say a heartfelt thank you that I am blessed with a creative life. My mind empties of all else as my fingers hover above the keyboard. And I write.
Please share – how do you get past loud internal distractions to embrace your creative mode?
