| Overwhelm | 2003-01-23 18:12 3 comments |
 by Flemming Funch"Most everybody is overwhelmed. And they respond with various defense mechanisms. Denial, isolation, increased greed ('I'll get it while I can'), righteousness ('It's their own fault'). There are a whole set of mechanisms that people use to keep from being open, because the quality of the human heart uncontrolled by the mind is that it will give away everything... We have to find ways to exercise the compassion of our hearts, and at the same moment learn how to know what the limits are and be able to say no without guilt." -- Ram DassJon Husband mentioned that quote. Indeed, I think it is a well-kept secret that most people are overwhelmed by life at this point. It didn't used to be like that. The world has sped up. Things are accelerating. Most people can't really keep up. Sometimes I think that it is just me, and that the people around me are just standing around waiting for me to get my act together. Until I look a little deeper and realize that most people I know are so thoroughly busy keeping up with their own lives that they don't have much time to stand around and philosophize about what I am not getting done. Nobody seems to have any time left over after doing what they need to do. Because they're not done doing what they need to do. Fundamentally I think it is a good and useful thing. An evolutionary trigger. See, if there isn't time enough to get everything done, you have to learn to prioritize and to be more discerning about what you do, and what not to do. And it is inevitably leading towards that you'll choose to do the things that you most feel you need to do, the essential stuff - what is most vital. And you'll choose to do what is exciting, rather than what is boring. I mean, if I can't do everything anyway, why on earth would I choose to do the boring stuff, and leave the exciting stuff undone. But, when we're put under pressure, apparently being asked to do more things than what appears to be humanly possible, it brings up a whole bunch of feelings and reactions from the bottom of our psyche. We might temporarily escape the problem by coercing others into doing more things for us. We might put on blinders, and start ignoring a larger portion of life. We might deny it altogether, and pretend that our life is perfectly in order, all organized, relaxed and secure. We might hold on to the way things used to be. Ultimately I think it is about learning to both be very open and flexible, and at the same time very discerning and precise. Be open to everything that the universe blows by your nose, but don't assume that you're supposed to analyze and package all of it. That's impossible. Just be open to it. You can watch the leaves blowing off the trees, and find it beautiful, without having to collect or count each single leaf. There's plenty of time for that which is most essential. The time is always NOW, and there's never more or less of now. So, of course you have time enough for doing what you're doing right now. You just have to give up the idea that you SHOULD be doing something else than what you're doing. Do what you need to do. Don't do everything else. |