Every once in a while you read something that unsettles you. I recently read Do The Work by Steven Pressfield. It is a challenging little book. It is a great read. One line stuck out and bit me.  Mr Pressfield states that he didn’t have a thought of his own until he was 30.  Every thought he had until that time was most likely a regurgitation of things he learned from his family, school, etc, etc.

It sent me on a journey into my own mind to see if I have done the same thing. Most people want to believe that they are self made. They want to believe that the thoughts and information and decisions residing in their heads  came from deligent study and rigorus application of what was learned. For some this is true at a young age. For the rest of us, I don’ think this is so. Many times we don’t know why we believe what we say we believe. We spend our lives filling our heads full of other peoples thoughts? Why is this?

We live in an age where information is hurled at us in a constant stream. We are so inundated that it is hard to take a moment to process everything that has come our way. It is hard to have an original thought and form an opinion on many things because the noise won’t stop long enough to let us start. I am not the only one this happens to right? Good. I didn’t think so.

So, what do you do if you find your mind full of thoughts that are not your own? If you examine your dominant thoughts and you don’t think they sound like you, it is time to take a break. An information break. There isn’t much new stuff out there anyway. It is time to take a few days and rest. What are your sources of information? Disconnect them for a few days. Let your mind go clear. When it does, you can start to think for yourself.

What do you believe in? What do you value? Who do you love? What do you want to be when you grow up? It is questions like these that help you make the most of your days. They shape the way you see the world and how you spend your time. Life comes into focus. The days are more meaningful. You can live them to the full because you know what you stand for. Until you can clear all the noise out of your head and have some thoughts of your own, this isn’t going to happen. Original thoughts won’t come. That is a shame too. The world needs more original thinkers.

I love to talk to people. I believe everyone has a story to tell. I love hearing others tell it. But how do you get them to start? sometimes it depends on where you are.

Where you are having a conversation has a bearing on what kind of conversation you have. Are you standing in line at the post office? Are you standing at the copier at work? Or, are you in the dining hall at your church greeting a new guest? Where you are gives you an entry into conversation.

If I am standing in a line that doesn’t want to end, I am actively trying to engage in small talk with the people around me. People love to tell their own story. Even if they think it is a small story, the still love for someone to listen. So, I start out with a general comment. Nothing invasive. A comment about the weather. Or the service. Whatever seems appropriate for who you are addressing.

When someone starts commenting on what I have said I make another comment. When they talk more, I ask a question. It is amazing how much you can find out about someone just by asking simple questions. Some people will tell you far more than you wanted to know, but that is a different story.

It can all start with where you are. You have both showed up in the same place at the same time. Gives you a small thread in common. You can build off of that commonality and have a great conversation.

We will he enjoying the holiday in quarantine. That doesn’t stop us from having it and celebrating the reason for it all. He is risen!

One of the benefits of the stay at home time we are currently having is…being at home. I haven’t been inside these walls this much since I was going through chemotherapy. It is so much better now. I am working. I am well. Yet, I still need the rest.

I have an amazing job. It is demanding. It is consuming. Project work is often like that. I love what I do. It gives me energy. After a while though it is nice to step away. For the past four weeks I have been working from home. If it is possible, I think I have been working harder here than when I was at the office. Stepping away has been harder.

Enter the weekend. A three day weekend at that. I am purposely trying to rest this weekend. We will see how it goes. I hope you get some too.

Start to your Easter weekend!