We are living during an age of information. From answers to our simplest questions to our most complex problem-all can be addressed by an easy Google search. Life advice is a click away. It is easy to become overwhelmed with the many choices and opinions. It is also easy to become entranced by the information and the power we believe it holds.
What sort of power? The power to live a better life. Society as a whole and maybe you as an individual as well, are intrigued by happiness and are eager readers of anything that promises us an answer to happiness and everlasting well-being. In this case, we believe that knowledge isn’t just power, it’s a means to the good life.
But we must be selective. By letting every piece of information in and giving it our attention we are inadvertently sacrificing great for good. We are letting everything in with no blocker in our minds. Constantly noticing things and recording them, there is no net. But if you become mindful of your impulses and thoughts, you will begin to notice when something that is merely okay is taking up room in your life when you could be experiencing something that is a better match for what you need.
How do you know when what you are doing is not a good fit? Usually, you might feel antsy or impatient to get it over with. I recently picked up a magazine that I had little interest in reading but it was part of my process to read through a magazine before I recycled it. I started to flip through it and the impatience crept in. I felt overloaded and tense. I wanted to just be done with it. But I was worried I’d miss an important piece of information or a valuable answer, to what I don’t know. Then I realized something. To make room for the good moments and the true good stuff of living, I couldn’t be spending any more time than is necessary on penny-annie stuff. So I tossed the magazine in the recycle bin.
I realized that on my own, as needed, the information I need in any given moment will be preceded by an inner prompting. If I need to understand how meditation affects happiness levels, I will be drawn to this. Meditation will become intriguing to me. I will notice that when I meditate or think about meditating, I feel better. This might prompt me to research the correlation between the meditation and happiness. I don’t need to rip out an article from a magazine and save it in a binder so I can access the information some day (if I even remember where I store it). Information is a tool and it can be used effectively or misused to the detriment of the user. Don’t let simple chatter, in any form, take up precious mental space.
It used to be that I would feel guilty if I didn’t finish something whether it be a book or a project that is supposed to improve my life. But it isn’t so much about leading a product-oriented life, one in which you grade your life according to what you do and obtain, as much as it is about leading a process-oriented one. A process-oriented life is when you are aware of yourself, emotions and choose to act, if action is required, as necessary. This is a life of embracing the simple pleasures and knowing when to say enough is enough. So if a book loses its appeal, or a project ceases to have its oomph, you have two options. You can determine whether it is important to you and thus, you need to power through it. Or you can decide that perhaps it is draining you more than the end will benefit you and then choose to let it go.
Be aware of lure of information and new projects. It isn’t always a good fit and sometimes just adds another “to-do” to your already long list. What looks good maybe just that-good. There is plenty of good information out there. Positive distractions abound. But what you are looking for needs to come from your heart. Know your priorities and embrace only that which assists you to this end. Ask yourself why you are adding another thing to your life when it may be as simple as noticing what is already good and pleasurable. Selectivity is what is now needed in order to get down to the truly awesome core of life and away from the extraneous crud floating around.
The Art of Making Lemonade 