Psychological Weight

Now and today are always the busiest time of year. Life is busy, and it doesn't show much sign of slowing any time soon. Because I feel so busy, though, I sometimes let some things get the better of my mind. I think of them more often than I would like, or 'worry', or just mentally review things that don't need reviewing. The more I review a busy thing, the heavier it seems. That, to me, is psychological weight - a measure of how often I am obliged to think of a particular thing.

And the things that I judge or label as 'difficult,' 'hard,' 'bad,' 'demanding' ... those are the really heavy psychological weights, the ones that are hard to mentally lift.

I once read that "well-organized time is the clearest sign of a well-organized mind." For a long time, I have really believed in that suggestion. Being organized with time suggests good planning and organization. I agree with David Allen's suggestion that there is no such thing as time management, however - one doesn't manage two hours and come up with time to work four hours. The well-organized mind has to do more than just plan and use its time well.

Instead, a sharp mind might be thought of as clear, simple, and lean on thoughts. Very few heavy psychological thoughts taking up lots of spare resources. The clear mind probably conciously thinks about something enough, but no more. Only enough.

When the going gets busy (as it always does), only think about things enough. Any more thinking effort is probably a waste of an otherwise wonderfully creative mind.

I am the first to admit that my mind is not always as 'lean' as I would like. When I haven't been practicing regularly, my mental focus is the first thing to go from my practice. I pick up mental flak, random mental interruptions that add unnecessary psychological weight to my practice. So I work on keeping a clear head.

I can feel the difference when my mind is clear, but I can hear it, too.