Clarity of thought is a luxury I don’t think I have ever
really had. There are a few that crack through the muddy waters of my mind. They
surface like seals; playful in the sunshine before diving into the depths
again, faring better in the darkening swell.
I have moments of clear thought: points when my own mind is bright and clean.
Different things will do it. Sometimes it is an action, the concentration that
we put in to a task that takes a different part of our brain and draws us in to
the point of obsession. I find that sketching is one of those things that help.
During the half term I sat for an hour drawing a statue in the British museum,
oblivious to the passage of time, focus zeroed in on the colours of the stone
and the way the curves caught the light just so. I did the same the other day
covering an art class for a friend. Sketching a copy of an Audobon painting I
was lost in the flow of the pencil drawing the shapes from the ivory slice of
cartridge paper.
Sometimes reading will allow me to order myself; the poetry
of Ted Hughes, full of the natural world, provides a sense of stillness. Often
it is where I am that can have the biggest impact. Green is a colour that
always clears my mind. Every time I visit Lords cricket ground the moment I turn
the corner on the stairwell and see the brilliant Emerald sheen of the outfield
I feel a sense of calm that stays with me the rest of the day, whether we have
a batting collapse or not.
Playing chess, lifting weights, reading something in a new language
or trying to pronounce words I’ve never heard or consider ideas just born; all
of these thing draw on parts of my mind that are not often used (and more’s the
pity). In schools we take advantage of this, sometimes. We get them in
classroom and then get them outside to run and jump. But what about exercising
the rest of Poirot’s little grey cells? If a weightlifter needs to try new
things and put stress on his muscles in different ways to improve performance,
must we not also extend our learning environments to cover more activities,
ideas and experiences to tantalise young minds?
A moment of clarity – being lost in the act of creating, the
process of learning or simply being: immersion in an act, an idea or a place is
something to be encouraged and fought for in an age of immediacy.
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For me, it's purple. Unfortunately, you don't come across that so much in nature, which is maybe why I can lose myself in an tulip.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's all about letting the right brain free, sometimes. This world is left sided. But I think it's important to accept the limitations of reason and just say Hell Yeah to the right.
In a non National Front, more Guardian-reading kinda way, of course.
Not that I read the Guardian.
Or follow the National Front, I hasten to add ...
GIN! Gin is the answer.