I recently had a frustrating week at work waiting on others to make decisions. Often decisions aren’t fun to make, and we are bombarded with them from the minute we wake up.
Five more minutes of sleep, or get up now?
This blouse? Those pants?
Stop for coffee or drink the office industrial swill?
Eat lunch or work through it?
Dinner--take-out or frozen?
All day long it never ends. Readers are probably feeling quite anxious by now, so what is my point?
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Our brains need a rest.
It took me many attempts over the years to finally embrace the rare moments to
unplug. I can’t meditate for even half an hour, but for five to ten minutes I
can still my mind. No decisions, no book plotting (a curse that keeps many
writers up in the middle of the night), no chasing an elusive answer. Just
be open and let a choice, idea, or solution come to me.
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Attending a guided meditation course at my first Romance Writers of America conference provided a successful introduction to the practice of quieting one’s mind. Lori Wilde, the author who organized the course, told us how meditation has improved her writing with greater clarity and allowed her to write more quickly. I’m not the writer Lori is, but I now take a few moments to let go when a scene isn’t coming together. Instead of chasing an answer, I rest my mind. Creativity is important to me and is a chance to let my mind play.
In my workout classes we’ve started a breathing practice at the end of class where each exhale is to let go of anything that doesn’t serve us. Deep breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system that puts us into a relaxed state. An increased intake of oxygen lets our brains function well, improving clarity and allowing us to feel grounded and productive. Angst vanishes and the possibilities open up.
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We can’t let go of all the daily decisions we need to make but making time to breathe and let our minds rest for even a few minutes can allow the answers we relentlessly seek to magically appear in the stillness.
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Self care is so important. Thank you for the reminder to take a few minutes to quiet my soul and recharge. Great post.
ReplyDeleteI love the reminder that as writers, we might actually be more productive by quieting our minds than by straining our brains for answers. I love to walk when I'm working through a difficult passage/scene. Thanks for sharing.
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