Timer

The timer starts now.

There is noise. Out there and in here. There is a constant string of thoughts, sensations, observations. There is a default mode engine that runs and populates our attention. There is never a dull moment.

But in between. Sometimes. A window opens. For one reason or another we can be blessed with a pause in the incessant flow.

Within these pauses we can make a choice. I may not be able to choose to let my mind “catch” on trivial distractions and judgements. But if I’m lucky I will be able to choose to leave them. To release that thread. If I release enough of these threads which offer no benefit to me, perhaps in that way I may arrive at the thread of thought I am interested in pursuing.

For example, here. Now.

The noise of the coffee shop beckons: “Listen to us. We are immediate. We are urgent. We are real. If you just pay us attention we will repay you with all you desire; self-satisfaction, righteous certainty. We will answer the questions we created in your mind. We will close the loops you open as you fray at the edges of your focus.”

I have no answer to these voices. In answering them I engage. In engaging with them I accept their demands.

There is no negotiating with distractions.

Instead, I simply return. I pass over them as water passes over rocks in the riverbed. Making them smooth and easing the flow over countless cycles.

I sat down to write. For no purpose other than to write. To practice the skill of picking words out of thin air.

I believe picking the right words again and again is the key to creating messages that move mountains. If I am intent on making and moving at that scale, I should be adept at picking words. I should invest in writing, communicating, creating, sharing ideas and information clearly and effectively. This is key. This is important. This is one thing among many that I am committed to. And to do this well, it is just as much a matter of releasing, as it is picking up something new.