Bird brain thinking
This blog is also about birds. The morning hour of birdwatching is very therapeutic. It is not only therapeutic, but also educational - and a time to order the mind, to feel rested and realigned. This was the list of birds that visited our neighbourhood this morning. But today I also learnt something about my own life by watching two groups of birds.
The first were the various kinds of honey suckers. In one sense, I feel they are very focussed on food but distracted in the process - jumping from flower to flower, flitting around in a hurry, as if there is no tomorrow. They are always in a rush and usually come alone or in pairs.
This hurry is something I identify with - mentally, at least. I sit on the front porch to do some reflective reading and thinking, but my mind is like these honey suckers: all over the place, flitting from one thought to another. Unfocussed but. They are all good and relevant thoughts, (to change the world) but many could wait and most are beyond me any way. Yet my overthinking brain refuses to rest. It invites all those thoughts into my fronto-temporal and hippocampal areas, unnecessarily distracting me, both intellectually and emotionally.
Yes, I blame it on the brain.
But then I also justify it. Consider the amount of cross-pollination the honey suckers do. Their impact on life is far greater than they can think or imagine. And that is why I allow my brain to overthink. I feel I should be relevant and always contributing.
But by the end of an hour of birdwatching, reading, and reflection, there are days when I am more disillusioned than reordered, because I allowed my uncontrolled brain to have the upper hand. More on distractions in a previous blog.
https://santhoshsramblings.blogspot.com/2024/02/delirious-distractions.html
Why do I justify it? Because I do not want to live with a retracted brain. A retracted brain is what I imagine the munias have. They seem to have one purpose in life: to eat the bird food kept in front of them. They come alone, in pairs, and in groups, multiple times a day, just to pick up the bird feed, make a mess of the kitchen and dining table offered to them, and leave.
I feel that at my age, it is easy to become retracted in my thinking. My presumption is that retracted thinking can lead to irrelevance and being ignored (a bit of an identity issue), and so I feel the need to fight the slippery slope of moving into that retracted state. Not that it cannot happen in other ways too. And I give myself another reason (or excuse): mentally inactive brains are more prone to dementia.
But then my brain (which is the culprit) is also under the influence of technology. Perhaps the brain is not the issue - technology is.
One of the writers I read recently shared this: “The average iPhone user touches his or her phone 2,617 times a day.” I suspect mine is more than the average - but then again, I tell myself it is for a good purpose!
Then he posed this question for reflection: “What would my life be like if God touched my mind as frequently as I touch my phone?” Perhaps through the birds and the nature I see? He goes on to look at his life and makes this interesting statement: “Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a Jet Ski.”
So, what should I do? The need is neither to be distracted nor retracted, but to have a reordered mind. A mind disordered by fleeing thoughts and overthinking must be trained to become more restful.
Disorder of the mind is not merely a problem of the mind; it is also a problem of the heart. As another author reminds us, “Distraction leads to disillusionment; attention leads to adoration.” May be I should end each day's thoughts with a closure time? So that mornings are fresh to reflect, think and enjoy. But that too is not an easy task.
But I cannot go on finding fault with my brain and my mobile. I am the owner of both! So perhaps I should keep learning from the birds: not to flutter anxiously like the honey suckers, nor to settle too comfortably like the munias, but to find a wiser rhythm somewhere in between. Be rooted in the reality of the present around me. And have more "Bird brain thinking" - simple, focused (even when fleeting around), uncluttered and instinctive.
In short, the birds gave me a morning sermon: do not be a frantic nectar-chaser, do not be a resigned seed-picker, and definitely do not let your phone become your spiritual director. A little more attention, a little less hurry, and perhaps both the birds and the brain will get along just fine. And learn how not to "meddle where I have no business or fantasize grandiose plans."
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51615610-the-ruthless-elimination-of-hurry
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