Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Drawing a blank

.
The dictionary definition of ‘drawing a blank’ is: to be unable to get information, think of something, or achieve something.

From time to time, every one of us is bound to find themselves in a situation where we are ‘drawing a blank’. A moment in which ~ no matter how hard we try ~ there seems to be nothing there. Up to the point that even googling  yields no success. No idea gets sparked in our minds, no hints come from our surroundings. Blank.

The interesting thing is that this is usually not because of lack of input. As it turns out, these situations seem to happen more when there is a lot of input. Things we need to do, things we should be careful not to forget, things we need to take care of. And then there are the things we desire to do, for instance creative endeavors, recreation (literally re ~ creation), a walk on the beach, to sit at the trunk of a beech...
And suddenly we are approaching a point of being overwhelmed. A point where every next bit of input is too much. It is at that point that, when we try to envision how we will accomplish our next task, when we are trying to imagine the most creative or fun solution to even a minor project ~ there may be nothing there. We are drawing a blank.

The solution is as practical and down to earth as it is obvious: to cut back on the amount of things that are striving for our attention. To take a time out in order to get our priorities straight again. To take a deep breath so we can reconnect with our own inner core again, as our own innermost being always has the wisdom to direct us to exactly that activity ~ or non-activity ~ that will be most beneficial to us at that very moment.

What does not seem to work ~ at least it doesn’t for me ~ is to keep ‘Facebooking’, making phone calls, playing computer games, or watching TV. All of these things are still turning our attention outside of ourselves, whereas the solution is to be found inside...

The way each of us connects to our innermost being is personal. For some it is a walk in the forest, for others it is yoga, or meditation. Or just permitting ourselves to take time for that cup of coffee or tea ~ even when our logical mind says that there is no time for ‘frivolous’ things like that right now.
And yet, when we give ourselves that hour of time to get back in touch with ourselves ~ things in our lives start falling into place again.

Nothing blank about it...
.
.

No comments:

Post a Comment