Most of us face times when we need
to sort through our thoughts. Maybe a budget problem requires our attention. At
other times, troubling incidents in a relationship or with children and their
actions scream for us to make decisions and corrections. The key to keeping up
with our important thinking is finding the right place to do it.
Most people
declare that they spend shower time singing. I’ve done it as well; however, I
have also discovered that place is wonderful for thinking. It must have
something to do with the hot water cascading onto a tired or half-asleep body.
Before long, my mind is clear and running high speed. I’ve
had prayer time and come up with solutions for the world’s problems, or at
least the ones in my life, during that fifteen minutes of standing under the
shower head.
Another
place where I can think clearly is in the car. Of course, I have to deny the
urge to let road rage take over, but once I do, the problems that I think are
pressing come to mind. Not long after that, the solutions to them float to the
top of my consciousness. No one needs to worry because I am watching the road
and traffic as I ponder things. More than likely, my actions are safer than
most of the people who yak on the cell phone or text while pointing their vehicles
down the highway.
Our porch
is a wonderful location for a think tank. Just the other day, I sat in the
swing and watched traffic zip down Ball Camp Pike as I tried to come up with
some writing topics. The gentle back-and-forth movement and squeak of the
chains holding up the seat put me in a trance. Before long, a list of things
came clear.
During warm
weather, I take a seat on the porch in the mornings and evenings. Sometimes I
finish up a short devotional to start the day off right. On other occasions, I
listen to the passing cars, singing cicadas and barking dogs of the
neighborhood. All the while, I’m turning over an endless supply of questions
and concerns. By the time I rise to tackle other pursuits, my mind is at ease
and the world is once again good.
Oddly
enough, the place where I do my best thinking is on the seat of a riding lawn
mower. When the kids were young and I wore parental armor, I replayed events
while making rounds in the yard. The lines usually stayed straight, even though
my attention was directed toward finding a solution to another problem. The
roar of the engine and the sweet smell of fresh cut grass combined to remove me
from everything in the world but that seat. Many times, it became apparent that
the man steering the mower was the person at fault in parent-child disputes. At
other times, just riding through the yard helped cool me down before passing
down punishments.
I’ve tried
other areas for thinking but discovered they just don’t work. Sitting in front
of the television is a terrible place for using my mind. Of course, most
television programs are so bad that I zone out from them and could, perhaps,
train myself to think. Another bad place for such activities is in a seat in
front of a computer. Too many other things call me away—Facebook, email,
YouTube.
I like to
find good places for thinking. Many times, thoughts have been sprinkled with
tears and laughs, and none of that would have occurred without finding those
special places for some quiet and reflection. All of us could use a little more
time to reflect on important matters and escape the mind-numbing distractions
that bombard us each moment of life.
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