We are sponges. In the moments when we are open and aware, we are constantly learning. Some of the things we learn are not terribly useful, or can be discarded after we have successfully applied them to our current situation. Other learnings are the type that we need to hang onto, because of their usefulness in our everyday lives and in our overall growth. As sponges, we absorb all of these learnings and fill up. If we stay in a state of awareness, the learnings are available to us. But we don't. Life has a way of squeezing us to the point that we lose what we have learned.
This is a cycle that many of us live, and to be honest, after everything that I've studied, the best we can do is build resilience so that we don't get squeezed very hard or very often.
But I've recently updated my theory. There are learning moments when the sponge is being filled and squeezing moments when the sponge is being emptied, but there are other moments as well. I call these being in a holding pattern. You can continue to do learning in a holding pattern, and there will be some squeezing going on too, but there really is no movement. You are simply living. This holding pattern is extremely important. It is the calm before the storm, the time when you are gathering energy to be ready to do something really big.
I went through one of these holding patterns this summer. I wasn't sure why I didn't feel like writing, I had a hard time motivating myself to move forward on my work projects. I spent a lot of time with those closest to me, worked on some personal projects (home improvement is a favorite of mine!), and generally took care of myself. I slept a lot, read a lot, watched a lot of interesting TV programs. But nothing really took off.
Now that we're well into September and school/work busy periods have started over, I've been feeling like momentum is building. The personal growth work I did this summer is starting to take a hold. My body is even feeling more energized, ready to take on some big stuff.
And the first big idea hit me this morning! Not sure if it is a good one, time will tell, but the important thing is that I had a big idea. I managed to polish off a few urgent work tasks quickly, and then I sped through the development of a talk that I'm giving in October. Finished a book I was reading (yes, The Celestine Prophecy, probably for the 10th time!), and I find myself at 4:30pm wondering how I managed to do all of this so quickly! I still have lots of time to get the rest of my to-do list done before catching Larry King at 9pm (he's got a great line-up this week!).
And to top it off, it finally came, the desire to write. The need to share with you what I learned today. The urge to help you understand, if you have also spent the summer in a holding pattern. So I'm back. I've got lots of great things to share with you over the next few days, weeks, months. Hopefully you haven't given up on me.
Have a great rest of the week!
