It may be myth – but often myths are basic facts lost in the fog of time – that, having searched for many years to discover the meaning of life, the Buddha became enlightened when he was simply sitting under a tree. It may also be legend, but legend has it that Sir Isaac Newton made is most important scientific discovery, once again, whilst sitting under a tree. And although it was an apple that reputedly dropped for Newton, you’ve got to find your own tree to allow your very own pennies to drop for you – your personal development depends upon it.
Only a clear and uncluttered mind can be inspired. And the normal mind is anything but clear and uncluttered. Psychology suggests that the normal mind is overwhelmed by random thought – some fifty thousand random thoughts zip through our minds every single day. Most of those thoughts are innocuous but, research concludes, some of those thoughts are self-destructive – I was going to say positively self-destructive but that would be a contradiction – these negative thoughts are toxic. These are the thoughts that create the illusions of low self-esteem, worry, anxiety, stress and depression. Left to its own devices, the adult mind simply cannot be inspired.
And is life worth living without the excitement of inspiration? Surely life is nothing more than going through the motions if you’re not excited and delighted by the exhilaration of the out-of-the-ordinary? However, the out-of-the-ordinary is all too rare an event for the normal mind that merely exists in the comfort of the routine. However, if you don’t stir yourself out of this deadly slumber you will simply not have lived life to the full. Not only that, you’ll be a negative influence on those around you – in particular those who you claim to love.
Everyone is capable of being inspired and being inspirational. You are capable of escaping from the norm and living your very best life. But you must make space for inspiration, you’ve got to give yourself the uncluttered and clear time to let the inner you out. Our next-door neighbour in the Alps has often asked me what I do for a living. And, even though I have explained it to him on a number of occasions, he still seeks clarification – in his own words “It seems to me and my wife that you spend a lot of time doing nothing!”
Doing nothing is not a waste of time. Doing nothing can often be time most fruitfully spent. The peace and clarity of mind that comes with spending time doing nothing is the incubation chamber in which inspirational ideas simply spring to life. Thomas Edison found that he only became inspired in his mind’s quiet moments to the extent that he set about creating quiet moments for his mind every day. Edison had over four hundred inventions patented in his name. Pablo Picasso said that he was never sure when inspiration would strike so he made it his business to cultivate a prepared mind.
Are you prepared to be inspired? How often do you simply let your mind set off on flights of fancy? I’m not talking about wandering into negative thought – I’m talking about effortlessly allowing your mind wander onto what normal people would find undoable or unachievable. Such things are only undoable to a normal mind constrained by preconceived negative notions. De-program yourself – let yourself go, let yourself off the hook of normal ‘living inside the box’. Find your tree, sit under it and spend some quality time doing nothing.
