“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you” Ann Lamott writes in her book Almost Everything.
I get so caught up trying to get done what I think needs to be done and fix what I see as broken that I don’t even notice the stress that is building in my mind and body. That is, until I feel very frustrated, tired and upset.
I have this inner program that says, “Keep at it until it gets done!” When what I need to do when I get stuck is pause, take a breather, go outside in nature for a few minutes, or have a cup of tea and relax.
Yes, things work better and often solutions appear when we take a little time to back off, stare out the window and look at the trees and sky.
Stephen Jenkinson, also known as The Griefwalker, tells us that the major addiction in our Western culture is trying to figure things out.
We seem to want answers so badly that we rack our brains and forget that solutions often appear when we stop, relax and take our minds off the problem.
It is my experience that answers come more easily when we are not actively engaged in solving the issue. We may be even be sleeping and get an answer in a dream. Or doing the dishes when a solution pops into our mind.
But it’s hard to let go if we have an inner program that tells us we should be able to figure this out!
It’s OK to give it a good go, but instead of doing the same rain dance over, only harder, it helps to unplug for a bit. Then we can begin again, and this time it will be from a different frame of mind.
One small change changes everything. We often don’t believe this, but it’s a fact. Everything flows, just like a river. The current changes with every rock or twig it moves over. Our smallest touch changes things.
Giving up that old need to figure things out on our own may seem like relinquishing our brainpower. It often goes counter to rational thought. The ego does like control.
As a very young child my uncle offered me a nickel (these were depression times) which I accepted with glee. Then he held out a dime explaining that it was worth twice as much as the nickel, and offered the dime in exchange for the nickel.
If you think I went for it, you’re wrong. Human logic is often very misleading. I didn’t trust what I couldn’t see and I could clearly see that the nickel was twice as big as the dime. Why should I give that up for something smaller?
This has been a metaphor in my life. Just because something appears larger or more valuable doesn’t make it so. I often reflect on this and have regretted when I forgot!
Recently my mouse would not move anything on the screen of my computer. And the touch screen wouldn’t work. The computer was stuck. I tried moving everything I could think of. Then I called my grandson and he pulled out the plug in the back of the screen that connected the mouse to the computer. He waited a minute or two and plugged it back in. Voila! Everything worked perfectly!
Amazing how simple things can be when we unplug for a while.
So cut yourself some slack when you’ve tried and tried and things don’t seem to be working out. It may be time to let go for a time and do something else. Take a walk around the block. Look up at the sky. Notice what is in bloom or the song the bird is singing. Maybe watch the squirrels.
Unplug from the problem when an answer doesn’t seem forthcoming.
We are not work horses! We are spiritual beings having a human experience. I believe being human includes a huge amount of mercy—especially to ourselves.
As a human we are always connected to something higher and wiser. Thus we can turn stop trying so hard and so often to figure things out.
In lovingkindness,
Rev. Billie
I get so caught up trying to get done what I think needs to be done and fix what I see as broken that I don’t even notice the stress that is building in my mind and body. That is, until I feel very frustrated, tired and upset.
I have this inner program that says, “Keep at it until it gets done!” When what I need to do when I get stuck is pause, take a breather, go outside in nature for a few minutes, or have a cup of tea and relax.
Yes, things work better and often solutions appear when we take a little time to back off, stare out the window and look at the trees and sky.
Stephen Jenkinson, also known as The Griefwalker, tells us that the major addiction in our Western culture is trying to figure things out.
We seem to want answers so badly that we rack our brains and forget that solutions often appear when we stop, relax and take our minds off the problem.
It is my experience that answers come more easily when we are not actively engaged in solving the issue. We may be even be sleeping and get an answer in a dream. Or doing the dishes when a solution pops into our mind.
But it’s hard to let go if we have an inner program that tells us we should be able to figure this out!
It’s OK to give it a good go, but instead of doing the same rain dance over, only harder, it helps to unplug for a bit. Then we can begin again, and this time it will be from a different frame of mind.
One small change changes everything. We often don’t believe this, but it’s a fact. Everything flows, just like a river. The current changes with every rock or twig it moves over. Our smallest touch changes things.
Giving up that old need to figure things out on our own may seem like relinquishing our brainpower. It often goes counter to rational thought. The ego does like control.
As a very young child my uncle offered me a nickel (these were depression times) which I accepted with glee. Then he held out a dime explaining that it was worth twice as much as the nickel, and offered the dime in exchange for the nickel.
If you think I went for it, you’re wrong. Human logic is often very misleading. I didn’t trust what I couldn’t see and I could clearly see that the nickel was twice as big as the dime. Why should I give that up for something smaller?
This has been a metaphor in my life. Just because something appears larger or more valuable doesn’t make it so. I often reflect on this and have regretted when I forgot!
Recently my mouse would not move anything on the screen of my computer. And the touch screen wouldn’t work. The computer was stuck. I tried moving everything I could think of. Then I called my grandson and he pulled out the plug in the back of the screen that connected the mouse to the computer. He waited a minute or two and plugged it back in. Voila! Everything worked perfectly!
Amazing how simple things can be when we unplug for a while.
So cut yourself some slack when you’ve tried and tried and things don’t seem to be working out. It may be time to let go for a time and do something else. Take a walk around the block. Look up at the sky. Notice what is in bloom or the song the bird is singing. Maybe watch the squirrels.
Unplug from the problem when an answer doesn’t seem forthcoming.
We are not work horses! We are spiritual beings having a human experience. I believe being human includes a huge amount of mercy—especially to ourselves.
As a human we are always connected to something higher and wiser. Thus we can turn stop trying so hard and so often to figure things out.
In lovingkindness,
Rev. Billie
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