Staring into space

There’s nothing I like better than staring into space - switching the thinking and doing part of me off, not trying to achieve anything, and simply being. When I was a child I probably labelled it daydreaming. As I got older I sometimes got frustrated by this apparent lack of concentration (especially in maths lessons) and berated myself for doing it. But in recent times I’ve come to realise that my brain needs it. Staring into space is just my mind’s way of taking a break from all its usual mental activity, a way of it relaxing.

Now I realise that what I am actually doing is practising a form of mindfulness, a meditation with my eyes open. I’m partaking of a mini-break for the brain - a chance to relax, to let go, to feel good.

I must confess that I’m a bit picky about where I engage in this mental shutdown. I like to do it in nice surroundings that are good to look at and calming, such as in nature, or in a boutique coffee shop or on a train or in a car with countryside to watch go by (not while driving!). I enjoy having interesting things around to look at, they give my brain something to idly focus on rather than on the meanderings of my to-do list. One of my absolute favourite places to do it is on holiday, where the double-whammy of having nothing to do and being somewhere different add up to a great opportunity for idly watching the world go by.

I tend to know when my brain needs to do it now as my eyes tend to just want to glaze over and my brain wants to put no effort whatsoever into the task at hand. Note: this is not the same woozy feeling one gets after a carb-heavy lunch or 5 pints of beer. Nor is it the same as the boredom you feel during that 2 hour audit meeting.

I usually take myself off somewhere for lunch to watch the world go by. This time has become a lovely oasis of calm in the middle of an otherwise frenetic day, which is what it’s supposed to be, but how many of us actually use it for that? My boss takes the mickey out of me sitting on my own eating lunch, but I don’t let it bother me. I know when I get to the end of the day I will feel better for it.

Obviously, you can’t always drop everything for a bit of glaze-over time. It’s much better to do it when you can really surrender to to the process. Even if you’re stuck in the dullest meeting in the world, at some level you need to be taking it all in - if nothing else so that you don’t get caught out by an unexpected question or fend off unwanted actions.

Now the really ironic thing I’ve learned about switching my brain off is that in doing so I actually get more done. Because when my brain does then start having thoughts again, they are so much more useful than usual. For me, there are three reasons for this: 

1) A bit of quiet time makes me feel more relaxed and positive about the world. I open up to and become more alert to the possibilities of opportunities unfolding around me. I literally have new ideas.

2) Getting away from the noise and detail going on in my brain allows me to get a better sense of perspective about everything. It helps me to prioritise what’s truly important from the rest of the chaff.

3) Because my brain is relieved of thinking about the minutiae of everyday life, it has more capacity to think laterally and come up with better solutions to problems.

As I’ve written about this I’ve become convinced that I need to find more opportunities to revitalise by switching my brain off. Why do I only wait for the ‘right’ situation when I am in beautiful surroundings? Why not take every opportunity I can to switch off my brain, relax and give it chance to work at its optimal levels? Why stifle it waiting for perfect conditions? Why not do it between meetings? Or making a cup of tea? Or driving to work?

I’m going to try!