In a previous post I wrote (or whined) as follows…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Should there be some culturally recognized rite of passage in which a person who turns -0 is allowed to take three months to disappear and figure life out before returning to run the home stretch?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I was entertaining the idea that I might be able take some kind of sabbatical, the macro version of the mind-space I’ve tried to carve out in my regular routines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I think I’m at the point now, a few days after writing those words, where I’m done pouting, and I’m ready to get real…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dude, that just ain’t happenin.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Or at least, I can’t count on it<\/em> to happen, a months-long sabbatical to stop and think and figure everything out. I’ve got to deal with the reality that life just doesn’t work that way. We weren’t designed that way. I’ve got to come to grips with the fact that carving out space for reflection and resolution in the midst of daily and weekly routines is what I’ve got to work with. That’s all I’m going to get.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So let’s just go with that, and figure out how to do it well, and fruitfully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If some kind of life-pause sabbatical opens up some day (and for some people it does, although it often involves being hit with life-changing trauma that forces them to step back), then I’ll try to make the most of it when it comes. But I’m not going to plan on it, or pout about not getting one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So let’s live well today, and this week, and think about how to maximize and develop what I’m already trying to accomplish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And one idea is…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cutting back on all the listening I do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (I often think of the Grinch: “All the noise, noise, noise, NOISE!!<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n I’ve said before that I’m at a point of rethinking certain assumptions about how I live. (Remember: “The way you’re living just isn’t working, think outside the box, blow things up,” etc.) Well today it hit me, maybe one of those assumptions that needs to go is the habit that I always need to have something playing: some album, some song, some station, some podcast. Especially in the car. Constant audio input.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yeah, that’s gotta go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “But” (I tell myself) “listening to different music is a way of branching out, and listening to podcasts outside my circle is a way of learning and broadening my horizons, and you can’t get enough of that, right?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Actually, you can. I believe it’s called the Law of Diminishing Returns. Or maybe we can call this one the Law of Unintended Mental Clutter?<\/p>\n\n\n\n So don’t automatically go from one podcast episode into the next one. Drop that habit. Maybe listening to just the newest episodes of a few solid podcasts is plenty. (And I’ve found a few.) It’ll give you more time to think about what you’ve heard. And don’t automatically cue up music as soon as you get in the car. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The fact is, I’ve really enjoyed using car time in the past as a chance to think and talk out loud, especially about the past. (I’m nostalgic that way.) I’ve enjoyed it, and I think I’ve benefited from it. So for now, why not try doing that more, and listening less?<\/p>\n\n\n\n But then naturally I make it burdensome (it’s what I do), and I think, Should I come up with a plan <\/em>for my ruminating? An order of topics? A routine for how I work through each topic?<\/p>\n\n\n\n And then I think…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oh STOP already!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just do it. Don’t plan. Just turn off the sound, and reflect, and think out loud if you have to. Make the most of those moments, and see where it leads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This week. Today. That’s all I’m going to get. So get real and live like it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In a previous post I wrote (or whined) as follows… “Should there be some culturally recognized rite of passage in which a person who turns -0 is allowed to take three months to disappear and figure life out before returning to run the home stretch?” I was entertaining the idea that I might be able… Continue reading Mind-space and sabbaticals<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[7],"class_list":["post-228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-musings","tag-transformation","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theunvanishingman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theunvanishingman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theunvanishingman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theunvanishingman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theunvanishingman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=228"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/theunvanishingman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":233,"href":"https:\/\/theunvanishingman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228\/revisions\/233"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theunvanishingman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theunvanishingman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theunvanishingman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}