REFLECTIONS: MENTAL HOUSEKEEPING
It feels strange to sit here at my desk during a work day (yes, Fridays are work days) and have time to write this. The In and Out boxes are empty and no work sits in the Pending box, thus making this a time for reflection and character development. That isn’t to say that work will be coming in soon; it’s only a matter of time. In the meantime I’ve had a chance to check on a few sites and truly give matters some thought. This is what I’ve come up with.
Reflection, so long as I don’t over-think things as I tend to do sometimes, can be a very worthy enterprise. It clears the cobwebs from the recesses of the mind and tidies up the thought processes. (I see it as mentally cleaning a room in your house. You dust, straighten up the pictures on the wall, put away any clutter, sweep up the floor, maybe wipe off a mirror or two.) The human brain needs this too or else it gets too cluttered with stuff and nonsense.
What kind of stuff and nonsense get caught in my brain? I looked at this first.
A while back I gave up television and even sold my telly so I wouldn’t have the temptation to hook it up again. I watch the odd DVD on a small player or on my laptop and that seems to suffice. But television is everywhere these days. The neighbor has hers on most of the time, the televisions are on at the gym, and every restaurant around here seems to have at least one TV mounted up on the wall (albeit on mute).
Where am I going with this? Let me explain. I find myself watching things that I would normally not give a dang about simply because an image flickered and caught my attention. Before I know it I’m filling my head with a bunch of stuff I don’t need and it screws up my dreams and relaxation time by adding images and impressions that were not there before. I don’t need this added data; my mind can conjure up enough simply by walking outside and partaking in some human interaction.
I think about this as I sit here at work with the temptation of the internet and the endless searches I could be engaging in and it makes me stop and wonder. What am I filling my head with here on my computer? Is it good and uplifting? Is it teaching me something? Is it helping me learn a skill or fulfill a purpose? Or am I simply wasting time that could be spent doing something else?
I use the opportunity to sweep out some of the junk in my head, telling that thought to go away and tossing out that image of some TV show that I never watched until my neighbor had it on. Even if I only watched a few minutes of it I’ve seen too much! In the place of that input I try to put something else, something inspiring or uplifting, something that informs and encourages me and educates me. You can’t just leave that space empty or the fluff will come right back in.
One of the worst things you can do is to look at a fluff magazine (you know the ones) or fluff websites when you are trying to clear out your head. This same very sweet neighbor who sits and watches television also has a stack of fluff magazines she reads and passes on; then she wonders why she never has time to finish housework or do her spiritual growth exercises and devotional readings. The answer is in the question.
This isn’t a blog about giving up TV, magazines or the internet, don’t worry. I like DVDs so I’m not immune to something with visual appeal, and there are more than a few websites and at least three social networks I visit regularly (this being one of them). I also have a few magazines I enjoy flipping through for inspiration and information. I’m just saying we need to be more careful what we fill our minds with. What goes into our head also feeds our spirit and our spirits cannot thrive on a diet of junk food any more than we can.
I’ll end on that note. Have a safe and restful weekend.
Traveler Kerena Hyler DD
4/26/13
