đˇ
The art of over thinking a dozen different things at once; coupled with significant worrying about things over which I have no control. Itâs my definition for my own brand of âmonkey mindâ. In Buddhist terms it means: "unsettled; restless; capricious; whimsical; fanciful; inconstant; confused; indecisive; uncontrollable. Which possibly is also a very good description of the inside of my head.
It has its pros and cons. As a writer when Iâm in the flow and ideas are just coming to me and I am trying to see numerous perspectives of my characters simultaneously...it works. I can have one story up on the screen and note pads beside me that I write on when an idea doesnât fit in the work Iâm focusing on. I can listen in to the world around me and make mental notes about what people are doing and saying. I can be in a place and create a possible scenario for the next book or the one Iâm working on.
Now donât be too impressed, itâs not really a grand skill, itâs just the busy mind working overtime. And there are prices to pay because not only does my mind jump from one creative distraction to another; it jumps from one internal worry to another. Iâve never been one who subscribes to the notion of âwe will build that bridge when we come to it.â Iâm more along the lines of âbuild the bridge, construct the highway, have two alternate routes planned in case of unforeseen crises before the water is even flowing.â Hence, the negative side of âmonkey mindâ.
Another con is the intrusion of possibilities. Again great for the creative life and the writing but less productive for the worried mind. My grandmother told me once that we had to leave problems alone. Give a problem ten minutes of your time, walk away and generally a solution is found before we get back to it. She didnât know about âmonkey mindâ or Buddhism but she knew a thing or two about life and solving problems. She also use to get quite cross about panicking people. âWaste of time and energy and still nothing gets done.â I wish I was more like her; pragmatic, cool and able to live with the outcomes of her decisions.
The capricious mind also gets in the way of getting my much promised âto be out soonâ second book. I could blame the many events of the year on my tardiness but in truth Iâve just let my mind run rampant and ignored the developing story line in the Lily OâHara series. Iâve worried about work and people, the world and lunatic politicians, unfairness, disloyalty, bad luck, poor health, sadness, yearning for things just out of reach, a lack of optimism and a pervading sense of loss. All of which Iâve truly had no control over and yet Iâve committed all my headspace to it. It has taken some time to work through the mountains of worries, real and imagined, to find a solution. And it was so simple. Control my thoughts. Iâve been attempting to stop my thoughts taking me to places that offer little solace, creativity or solutions. Focusing on the problem is not a great use of oneâs intellectual or imaginative capacity. Focusing on the solutions, focusing on the task at hand is a better use of the skills we have.
In the mental thrashing about nothing is achieved. We just give ourselves buckets of misery, high blood pressure and a pervasive sense of doom. All of which chase away creativity.
So in the last few weeks Iâve not particularly solved all of lifeâs problems but I have refocused on writing. Not surprisingly the reduction in âmonkey mindâ has lead to a bonanza of ideas and words. An end date is in sight.
I havenât been fully cured of my âmonkey mindednessâ and given my personality it is unlikely that my quest for serenity and Zen-like thought control isnât going to happen any time soon but I am one step closer to the last chapter.
Stay tuned; hopefully book two will be in your Christmas stockings come December.
Or with your Easter eggs in April!!!!
Comments