I started my remote Monday with morning writing and then a walk. As always, my mind wandered as I walked this cold, sunny morning, and I paid close attention to its starts, stops, circles, wonderings, and discoveries. My mind was like the ball in the pinball machine. I was truly experiencing REST, that random episodic silent thought.
Where my mind went:
Extended metaphor poems - and I went home with a totally different plan for the week.
Cam’s flying lessons - and a realization of how we both wear our emotions on our sleeves.
Ashley’s college tours - orange looks good on her, but which letters will she choose to wear?
Birds chirping - the distinct woodpecker, the hee-haw (best I can do to describe the sound) birds, and another bird. I tried to pick out their different songs.
Cracks in the pavement - and how they are like the lines on my aging hands and the journeys they both have provided.
Wishing that my brain was a computer - and how I could print out the paths of my mind.
This journey was not linear, not stop and move on. It was literally a pinball game. My mind jumped from one thing to the next, backward and forwards, all over the place. It was totally random. It was repeated episodes. I didn’t say a word, but there was singing. And boy did I think, feel, and lose myself in the remarkable working of my mind.
I am excited to be participating in the Two Writing Teachers March Slice of Life Challenge.
I've enjoyed thinking about REST ever since I saw the article posted on Facebook. I love how you captured your mind at REST in this slice. There was singing.
ReplyDeleteGosh, I haven't thought of a pinball machine in years. What an intriguing analogy for the movement of the mind so feely from metaphors to birds to cracks in the pavement; then the lines on your hands and life's journeys - that analogy is lovely.
ReplyDeleteI hate when I can't turn my mind off. This typically happens to me when I am trying to go to sleep! Again, each one of those thoughts is a slice!
ReplyDeleteLoved these lines, "It was literally a pinball game. My mind jumped from one thing to the next, backward and forwards, all over the place." - Think of how it fuels your writing, so many topics and insights!
ReplyDeleteYour pinball mind sounds great for a morning walk. My pinball mind happens and 1:45am when I want to be sleep. I love however how you captured so much of where your mind had gone. You were very present.
ReplyDeleteI like "pinball mind" instead of "monkey mind", especially since it captures the rebounds and returns so well. I'm looking forward to seeing those extended metaphor poems if they end up in your Slices!
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