Shower thoughts will improve your life
The modern-day cyborg's dilemma
There's a reason they're called "shower thoughts." Your mind is finally set free in this misty thinking ground.
This happens when you're not plugged into the never-ending stream of influences you've surrounded yourself with daily.
At least for a moment.
Then the hot water shuts off.
Minutes later, the AirPods find their home. A new extension of your body. The modern-day cyborg with its earbuds and screens in every direction.
Constant input - can't stop, won't stop.
The IV-drip of noise, a requirement during the commute to work, at the gym and walking anywhere and everywhere. While you're cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, washing dishes and grocery shopping. Non-negotiable!
The final few seconds of your day just before you fall asleep - staring at your phone.
Good morning, where's the phone?
Oh yeah, it's always inches from your face.
It's the thing that wakes you up and tucks you in at night.
Do you ever choose silence? Allow your mind to be still, or wander, or panic, or do whatever it wants and needs to do?
When was the last time you were bored in a quiet room, laying on your back, staring at the ceiling fan as it turns round and round luring you into ... thinking?
Sounds fun, doesn't it?
Are you afraid of that?
Stillness is good for you, dude.
A little bit of space can go a long way.
Be bored sometimes, and you'll become better.
Three things will happen.
3 You will struggle to stay in the present and soak up your current experience (present-focused).
2 You will look ahead, anxious about tomorrow's to-do list. Or maybe this will excite you (future-focused).
1 You will think about your past, both recent and old memories (past-focused).
I'm skipping 2 and 3 for now, because 1 is the foundation of 2 and 3.
3 summit the mountain
2 work your way up
1 start at the bottom
Times of solitude - being alone with your thoughts - is the only time you have to take your life experiences and fit them into a framework. This self-reflection creates order.
If your mind is only a collection of its past experiences, then you need time to reflect on the past and catalog it.
Imagine the mind as a library. It needs clear cut sections. Infinite bits of information are scattered across this mental landscape, and they're all searching for a shelf.
Let's do another cliché analogy, because, why not?
Solitude is the tidying of your room. If your room is your brain, and your thoughts are your belongings and clutter, then the occasional solitude with no distractions is how you "clean your room."
Your mind craves comfort. This is why it will gladly seek a distraction rather than think about that one thing you'd rather bury away for another time.
It's in this time we have alone to ourselves that we evolve and grow. If you rob yourself of that solitude with constant distractions, you miss out on daily opportunities to clear the cache in your head.
Create time for boredom, and your thoughts will organize themselves neatly. It will turn your scattered mess of a library into one that the wizard staff at Hogwarts would be proud of.
Don't avoid the Restricted Section. The dark magic you've buried can be transformed and polished into something useful for the future you.
Unlock a peaceful presence in the here and now by embracing stillness and quiet time for yourself.
Now, if I may, allow me to distract you with some relevant music. This is a test. If this song by Jacob Collier doesn't give you chills and make your eyes water, you might be slowly becoming more cyborg and less human.
"Don't be afraid of the dark
In your heart
You're gonna find a way
To carry the weight of the world
On your shoulders
You're gonna find your way home."
And yes, if you were wondering, that is a selfie of me wearing earbuds in Prague. Listen to your favorite music, my guy. Just find a bit of time every day to ... not do that too. Okay?
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