Sunday, April 09, 2006

The Power of a Mind

As time goes by I find my self wanting to slow down a bit. Take my life like a nice cognac one sip at a time. I wake in the morning and stretch myself into my head. Not stretching to reach for something, stretching to find a place that feels right. Right place, right time.

Last summer I discovered the beauty of breathing room. This spring I am seeing the light of finding space between breaths, yawning with the luxury of little bits of time, stopping myself before I run off to do something too fast. It’s exciting to learn how to turn off the fast forward switch, to have the time to wonder in the white space between words. I reach for a thing to do, and then I stop myself. Is this something that needs doing now, or should I finish what I’m already doing first?

What an amazing thing to do one thing at a time is!

I’ve always been something at knowing what others were thinking.

Now, I’m holding thoughts and following them to logical conclusions. What was once a fire hose loose on the floor is now like the sweet, still waters of a Japanese garden all my own. No more distractions or self-conscious diversions here. I’m taking the time to enjoy wandering through my thoughts, figuring things out, developing an original idea from beginning to end.

In the strangest way, I’m beginning to get my head around the power of my mind.

I have to wonder whether I’ve been running away from it all of my life.
−me strauss Letting me be

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I feel peace, for you and for me. Congratulations---my heart is a little lighter today.

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Thank you, trying to maintain. You have shared your peace and I feel it too.

smiles,
Liz

Anonymous said...

hi Liz,

I love WORDS. When I've read this precious little piece I've stumbled over one word: ..."I get my head around the power of my mind...". To me it's not your head it's your arms...

The pieces you write have so much meat on the bones...are NOT cerebrally crafted...I really like to read your pieces because I so strongly sense the whole Liz behind and beetween and IN your words.

This is meant to be a FEED-back. I'm a little nervous because this has been my very first comment in the internet.

All right, hope I got it across

Excited,
Tania

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Hi Tania from Germany,
Welcome!
What a wonderful comment. I shall never forget it. I often think of getting my hands inside my head to play with ideas and getting my head around ideas to to stretch my mind.

I very much like your FEEDback. It's nourishing. It touches the whole of me that you hear so much of me in what I write, because there is so much of me there to hear. I am grateful.

Please don't be shy about commenting, your insights are important to a writer . . . this one especially.
smiles,
Liz

Anonymous said...

Thank you so very much for your response, Liz. It's so encouraging!

I'm 48 and recently got the very first computer of my life. I know in every cell of my body that the internet is my place to be. I'm picturing since years a mobile homepage for that what I have to share. And here it is: BLOGGING.

At the same time I'm totally overwhelmed by the idea to create my own blog. Then when I'm down and confused I go to your blogs and I quickly feel revitalized...feel that it's gonna be allright...take my time.

I'm grateful, too!

Smiles,
Tania

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Tania,
I made my blog so that people would have a place to go, like I had--a big oak tree along the river in my backyard growing up. It's a place where you can be. Just be. You don't have to be anything, just be.

You can come and write comments for a while . . . then you'll want to blog for yourself.
smiles,
Liz

Anonymous said...

Me too, I want to slow down, darned life wont allow it right now, but soon.

I think my problem has to do with my being a bit overindulgent with myself these past couple of months. I’ve been on this machine when I should have been doing other things, at least a time or two anyway. Oh well, I wont regret the times I have blown things off in order to sit and type to good people like you. It’s the good people like you who I have met through this means of communication, who have enriched my life, both with your essence and wisdom. It will all buff out, the things that must be done will get done, and then I will “yawn with the luxury of little bits of time” too.

And when that time comes I will hug myself and think of you.

Man, am I a sappy old goomer or what? Heh, don't answer that...

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

hey Lori,
You can';t get more sappy than I am. This machine has been steeling my time too. No that I've been working, I've been losing readers, but that's the way I guess it should be. I'm writing to learn things. I'm learning. Yes. I 'm learning.
Liz