Does the Franklin’s gull in a large flock heading south notice me on the shore? Does she see a fish in the water? Or is her mind beautifully still as she floats along with her flock, simply trusting the wind and her wings?
What does the kingfisher think as he sits on his perch? He sits still and quiet for a long time. As long as it takes, I guess? I imagine his mind is quiet as he scans for fish, the way my mind sometimes quiets when I scan the lake for birds.
Kingfisher has been chattering past me every morning when it’s still dark. I suspect he’s saying something like, “not you again, I’d really rather this cove be unpeopled,” but maybe it’s just hello.
One day, when I had been sitting for quite a long time watching the sunrise, he must have decided things were safe. Or maybe he saw a fish from his post. Or maybe he just decided it was time to finally have his photo taken. I’m sure it’s the latter.
Kingfisher chattered past me and then stopped abruptly in the air, just a few yards away. He hovered and dove. He aborted his dive just before the water and then flew off in the other direction.
I thanked him for this gracious display. This time, my mind stayed quiet long enough to be rewarded with his generosity.
On the way home, I saw an eagle on the road near a raccoon that met an untimely demise with a car. I stopped, but the car in front of me kept going, slowly. The eagle flew away from me and up towards the trees. I stopped in a driveway to watch.
A few minutes later, I saw the eagle fly up to the top of an electric pole behind my car. The eagle sat on that high perch, waiting, observing the situation.
Eagle watched the passing cars, waiting patiently for a break. I imagined her mind was quiet. I imagined her watching the cars zooming by, not as something to engage with, but just watching until it was quiet again. Learning the pattern so she could safely engage with the roadkill.
I watched my own mind engage with every racing thought that zoomed by. I picked up my phone and put it down again a dozen times.
I imagined being able to stay focused, like eagle, simply waiting until it was quiet again. I got run over by a few of those racing thoughts in the process. Eagle just waited.
I hoped eagle would fly down and take another shot at the roadkill while I was positioned to take that photo. She did - just as I had given up and was preparing to leave. I missed the shot.
It’s not surprising that eagle has more patience than I do. I feel like my mind lives on a superhighway with bright, shiny objects racing by 24/7. A steady barrage of emails and social media feeds designed to get my attention and a work environment where things come at me quickly have eroded my ability to focus.
A few minutes of meditation a day is not enough to combat this assault. I have a mind that is really good at finding what’s new, what’s different, what’s moving through. This serves me well with birds - but it’s a black hole with all the information coming at me through the web each day at home and at work.
I’m trying to find ways to regain my focus throughout the day. To take mini-breaks, even micro-breaks, and let it all settle. I truly believe the issues I have had with my neck and migraines are directly related to a brain that overheats with all this information.
Perhaps I need to adopt more of a bird brain approach. The last two days, I have stopped at regular intervals to imagine myself as that eagle on the high pole or that kingfisher on his perch. I imagine widening my gaze over the landscape of myself, letting whatever thoughts arise race by, and looking curiously at what might appear. I imagine those thoughts, no matter how scary, are just cars on the road.
It’s too early to say if this will help. I’m learning other somatic techniques too, things to help connect my left and right brain and bring me back into my body. I’ve been at this for several years, long enough to know it will require vigilance and a lot of practice. Long enough to know my racing mind will try to subvert each technique I learn.
The good news is, I’m persistent. This is what I have in common with the kingfisher and the eagle. I don’t give up easily, and I want this as much as the eagle wanted that roadkill. Eventually, I will regain my sense of peace and find a quieter space in my mind.
How do you manage information overload in your day?
Karen, the only stress reducer that has ever truly worked for me was when I took up "jogging" after law school graduation and taking over the leadership of a family business. I began by reading Kenneth Coopers classic book "Aerobics" and after struggling to run around our local high school track and slowly recovering my breath, I decided to get in better shape. Overtime, the stress melted away and I was able to focus and relax into a life of marriage and children and business and employees. As Zorba the Greek once commented, "Life's full catastrophe." I have NO doubt running saved my sanity, my marriage, my health and yes, my beautiful life. I will soon turn 80 and I am still running.. not away from life but with life.
What helps me the most personally is swimming while meditating for an hour and a half every day but I realize that most people need a much quicker method.