I have been writing this post in my head for several days. . . and things keep getting in the way and making me forget what the heck I wanted to say!
Which of course ties right in with what I was thinking... namely that this world has too many distractions and it is hard to take the time to concentrate on any one topic for long. We live in a world with constant stimulation and it takes a concerted effort on our part to find a place to have time for piece and quiet.
It is odd, I know, with as much time as I spend alone in the car for work, you would think that I could spend hours contemplating life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Unfortunately driving requires concentration skills that on long drives seem to be remote and automatic but at the same time they prevent me from getting too deeply in my head. I listen to books on CD instead to keep my mind occupied and still allow myself to focus on the road.
I found one such place of peace at the pool. The only sounds in the pool area are the pumps and HVAC system ... water splashing if someone else is in the lanes next to me swimming. But generally it is so quiet that I can focus ... although with my compulsive need to count that doesn't always last long. Yes I count steps over and over again ... I don't believe I fall in to the OCD category, but I am compulsive about certain things. Counting is one of them ... OK so now you know another oddity about me.
Back to the peace in the pool ... so in the time I have spent there I am finding myself thinking about life and options at this point in time and I have decided that it is the most zen place I know in which to think. People in the pool doing laps do not chat with one another other than to say hello or ask if another person can see the clock (yep I am blind). So the hour I am spending in the pool gives me plenty of time to consider ... well between steps ... what is happening in my life.
I have also discovered that the sauna is a serene place where no conversations take place (normally) and since I am lying still it requires no counting of steps. Of course I still have a brain that is like a hamster in a maze jumping from one thought to another. But maybe that is normal, even without external visual or audible stimulation we still are capable of distracting ourselves. I have often wondered if this occurs when we come too close to the truth about something so the "universe" bumps us in another direction to distract us. If we are focused on the task we will keep coming back to that thought and eventually make sense of where we were going.
I wonder how philosophers of the past could focus so intently on their given tracks of ideological thinking and remain so focused. Was their world so much less visually or audibly stimulating or were their powers of concentration so much better? Maybe I am just easily distracted...ADD?
I have a friend who is the lead singer in a band and I got to hear his band preform in Cleveland last fall. After the show his mom, brother and his girlfriend and I spent and hour with the guys in their travel trailer. One of the guys came in put on his ear phones and got on his computer and started writing more music...sitting right in the same space where everyone was chatting and laughing and his ability to focus on what he was working on amazed me. He was able to pay NO attention what so ever to what we were doing. I do not understand that kind of focus. . . it is so foreign to me.
Computers make it difficult for those of us who are easily distracted...I keep 5 tabs open on my ISP at all times. They are BBC News, Yahoo, Work, Facebook and Psychology Today. Now here is the problem... if I leave myself logged into Facebook while I am on the work tab and I see the little pop up that there is a message I HAVE to check and see what it is. . . which leaves me with only one option ... log the heck out of FB while I am working. At the same time I frequently feel compelled to check what is happening in the world via the BBC and generally want to share what I have learned via FB so I end up logging back in and then the vicious cycle begins again.
I think that it is fairly normal for people to be distracted, or is it, what is normal any way? Isn't it overrated? I like to be unique and pride myself in being different than other people. It may just be my stubbornness but I hate to follow the crowd. Adriana, my future daughter in law's daughter was commenting on her outfit today saying that the current trends are just repeating the 80's and the shirt she was wearing would be out of style next year. It is crazy that at 10 she is concerned about fashion and what is in style! I am not a style maven and don't give a rip about what others say is in style personally I think some of the stuff that fashionista's say are stylish sucks! But I digress...
Back to the pool...so what have I learned ... I am thinking about going back to school. Yep again... there are a couple of things that interest me but I am not sure where I would go with them. Still checking it out I will keep everyone posted on any forthcoming decisions.
I did stop by Antioch Midwest and pick up some information on the IMA (Individualized Master of Arts) programs. I need to discuss it further with a couple of instructors and see where I might possibly take this idea. I have an plan but will need to narrow the scope of said plan to make it a manageable degree. So I have made the first step. We shall see..... :)
Which of course ties right in with what I was thinking... namely that this world has too many distractions and it is hard to take the time to concentrate on any one topic for long. We live in a world with constant stimulation and it takes a concerted effort on our part to find a place to have time for piece and quiet.
It is odd, I know, with as much time as I spend alone in the car for work, you would think that I could spend hours contemplating life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Unfortunately driving requires concentration skills that on long drives seem to be remote and automatic but at the same time they prevent me from getting too deeply in my head. I listen to books on CD instead to keep my mind occupied and still allow myself to focus on the road.
I found one such place of peace at the pool. The only sounds in the pool area are the pumps and HVAC system ... water splashing if someone else is in the lanes next to me swimming. But generally it is so quiet that I can focus ... although with my compulsive need to count that doesn't always last long. Yes I count steps over and over again ... I don't believe I fall in to the OCD category, but I am compulsive about certain things. Counting is one of them ... OK so now you know another oddity about me.
Back to the peace in the pool ... so in the time I have spent there I am finding myself thinking about life and options at this point in time and I have decided that it is the most zen place I know in which to think. People in the pool doing laps do not chat with one another other than to say hello or ask if another person can see the clock (yep I am blind). So the hour I am spending in the pool gives me plenty of time to consider ... well between steps ... what is happening in my life.
I have also discovered that the sauna is a serene place where no conversations take place (normally) and since I am lying still it requires no counting of steps. Of course I still have a brain that is like a hamster in a maze jumping from one thought to another. But maybe that is normal, even without external visual or audible stimulation we still are capable of distracting ourselves. I have often wondered if this occurs when we come too close to the truth about something so the "universe" bumps us in another direction to distract us. If we are focused on the task we will keep coming back to that thought and eventually make sense of where we were going.
I wonder how philosophers of the past could focus so intently on their given tracks of ideological thinking and remain so focused. Was their world so much less visually or audibly stimulating or were their powers of concentration so much better? Maybe I am just easily distracted...ADD?
I have a friend who is the lead singer in a band and I got to hear his band preform in Cleveland last fall. After the show his mom, brother and his girlfriend and I spent and hour with the guys in their travel trailer. One of the guys came in put on his ear phones and got on his computer and started writing more music...sitting right in the same space where everyone was chatting and laughing and his ability to focus on what he was working on amazed me. He was able to pay NO attention what so ever to what we were doing. I do not understand that kind of focus. . . it is so foreign to me.
Computers make it difficult for those of us who are easily distracted...I keep 5 tabs open on my ISP at all times. They are BBC News, Yahoo, Work, Facebook and Psychology Today. Now here is the problem... if I leave myself logged into Facebook while I am on the work tab and I see the little pop up that there is a message I HAVE to check and see what it is. . . which leaves me with only one option ... log the heck out of FB while I am working. At the same time I frequently feel compelled to check what is happening in the world via the BBC and generally want to share what I have learned via FB so I end up logging back in and then the vicious cycle begins again.
I think that it is fairly normal for people to be distracted, or is it, what is normal any way? Isn't it overrated? I like to be unique and pride myself in being different than other people. It may just be my stubbornness but I hate to follow the crowd. Adriana, my future daughter in law's daughter was commenting on her outfit today saying that the current trends are just repeating the 80's and the shirt she was wearing would be out of style next year. It is crazy that at 10 she is concerned about fashion and what is in style! I am not a style maven and don't give a rip about what others say is in style personally I think some of the stuff that fashionista's say are stylish sucks! But I digress...
Back to the pool...so what have I learned ... I am thinking about going back to school. Yep again... there are a couple of things that interest me but I am not sure where I would go with them. Still checking it out I will keep everyone posted on any forthcoming decisions.
I did stop by Antioch Midwest and pick up some information on the IMA (Individualized Master of Arts) programs. I need to discuss it further with a couple of instructors and see where I might possibly take this idea. I have an plan but will need to narrow the scope of said plan to make it a manageable degree. So I have made the first step. We shall see..... :)
