Thinking looks like doing nothing, but no. Thinking is beautiful.
I’ve always admired people who come up with great ideas and love the term “Think Tank”. I envision a group of super brains sitting around a round table, maybe one that’s polished and inlaid with a beautiful design. Laptops are at the ready because new ideas have to be captured before they get away. Old schoolers are gripping their pens.
Creative minds can work miracles, solving the unsolvable. Think about it, where would we be without the thinkers… to invent, create and inspire? We’d be freezing our hinnies in the outhouse at night, clopping through the streets behind a horse, and be forever tethered by the cord on our desk phones.
Brainwork — the invisible activity — is the very best thing I do. Without the distractions of a phone or music or conversation, silence allows my thoughts to blossom. This downtime is when I get my best ideas or, as a writer, the perfect word for the perfect spot. It’s when I get inspired with possible solutions or come to my senses and let something go that’s been bothering me for a long time. Thinking things through brings a new perspective, and seeing things from a different point of view changes everything.
Although I haven’t read this book since my school days, I still love the quote: “If you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view, until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.” Atticus Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird.
It’s a hard habit to break, but I’m sometimes guilty of jumping to conclusions before I get to know someone. This example from my past speaks volumes. My sister got married when I was a teenager and when she and her husband came over to our house, he often retreated to a corner chair in silence. When I discovered that my parents didn’t like him and asked why, my mother replied, “Who does he think he is, sitting in the corner, not speaking to us?” Eventually, my sister told me he just didn’t know what to say! Nowadays, the term would be “socially awkward”. He had a brilliant mind — Bio-chemistry was his field — but this apparently didn’t mix well with being friendly, even to your new in-laws. As a teenager I knew how unfair and judgmental my parents were being. Lesson learned and, apparently, never forgotten.
The trouble is our culture demands visible proof of time well spent. Co-workers and friends constantly ask “What did you do this weekend?” because they expect action all the time. Fearing they’ll label us lazy or worse — boring — keeps us going full throttle, whether we feel like it or not. Stopping all activity allows the dust to settle. Cells regroup, mending perspective and getting ready for the next day’s onslaught of data to sort though. The next time you see someone “doing nothing”, shhhh. They’re doing their most important work of the day.