Sunday pondering

Today has been a day off from writing, research etc, with some extra sleep to make up for what I lost on Friday night, reading and a lovely long muddy walk with Alfie the bouncy Golden Retriever. No days off for UBC bloggers, though, and I have been doing plenty of productive thinking which is setting me up to be raring to go next week.

Yesterday I came across the following quote from the Dalai Lama:

“The planet does not need more successful people. The planet desperately needs more peacemakers, healers, restorers, story-tellers, and lovers of all kinds.”

I haven’t been able to find the original source but it’s quoted all over the internet. Something hit me right between the eyes when I read this: “story-tellers”. I realised suddenly that this is what I am. I thought I was a writer but, in fact, writing is just the craft I am using to get my message across. My stories are full of information and ideas which I am working towards communicating to as many people as I can.

My dictionary defines “story” as 1) the past course of a person or institution’s life; 2) an account given of an incident or series of events or 3) a piece of narrative which may be actual or fictitious. It doesn’t have to be fiction to be a story. I don’t mind fiction, in fact every now and then I read a novel although most of the books I read are on ideas, thought and personal development or spirituality, as well as professional stuff. And I read a lot of poetry. But I’ve never felt drawn to writing fiction; I have too much to say from my own experience and thinking.

Thinking…that’s what I’m all about, in fact. During my long walk, always a great time for processing and inspiration, I pondered the fact that almost all of what I do involves thought. I try to show that our thinking is a great and powerful resource, but that all too often we allow it to make us unhappy, less productive and less authentic. We can feel that our thinking controls us, instead of the other way round. The central theme of my worry book is that, guess what, we can actually turn it the other way around and control our thinking, using it to make ourselves happier, more productive and more authentic. Reaching this realisation myself has been one of the most wonderful revelations in my life and I am driven to share it as widely as I can.

Pondering further, I realised that, surprisingly, I have been working with people’s thinking, and their stories, for rather a long time, in my professional life. When I advise someone in a police station, possibly on one of the most stressful and unpleasant days of their life, I need to know their story. Not a fiction, but their account and understanding of what has and has not happened. Then I need to apply my own thinking and analysis so that I can understand their legal position and advise them on the best course of action. Also, of course, I need to know the “other side’s” account, which may or may not be the same as my client’s. In order to take instructions and to advise a client, I need to establish a rapport, an intellectual meeting of minds and to try to get my client to trust me. It’s all about ideas, thinking and understanding. That’s my world; it’s where I live most of the time. When I am moved to tears, it’s usually by an idea or a way of thinking.

Of course, I need to live in the physical and emotional world too, and it is vital to be present and to live fully in my body and connect with my emotions. Only by living fully in this way can I use my thinking effectively and healthily.

Wow, rather a lot of thinking for a lazy Sunday! Anyway, it has really helped me to get some more clarity on what I am up to, why I’m putting all this work and time into a project that no-one has commissioned and there is no certainty on at all. If you have stayed with me this far, I want to thank you so much for your attention and interest. Have a thoughtful and peaceful Sunday evening.