Ruts again
| Let's try another metaphor. Saltlicks are like aerobics for the mind. Over time, our patterns of thinking become habitual: home, job, family, relationships, failures, successes, hopes, fears. The ruts that we mentioned earlier. Strangely, we become very comfortable in those ruts. Watch your thoughts for a while and you'll see what I mean. O.K, now I'm thinking about this big project that's due next week (we'll give that a few seconds of worry), one of my co-workers used a childish phrase today which reminds me of my three-year-old, worry about her for a few seconds, which brings up the troubling fact that she's not completely toilet-trained, so on to some seconds thinking about that and how my spouse could be dealing with that problem better, which reminds me of the only paddling I got in school in the sixth grade for chewing gum in class. . . All old familiar paths. Ruts, yes? Familiar and comfortable. Going over and over the same old material, occasionally, very occasionally gleaning a new insight or a new idea. But mostly just gliding along filling mental time while getting from one place to another, one task to another. What we mostly forget to notice is that the deeply rutted road passes through the most remarkable landscape. Down in the ruts its often hard to see. So you get Matthew Arnold going on about darkling plains or T.S. Eliot jabbering beautifully about vast wastelands. The saltlicks give you a way to 1) slow your progress along the rutted path, and 1) gain the mental strength and agility to lift yourself up and look around at what's to see. Which turns out to be quite a bit more than a darkling plain or a vast wasteland. Strength, agility--and stamina. The stamina part's important. Because, as you will observe in yourself, we really do like the ruts. They're so familiar, and so easy. Sort of like watching mental sit-coms. No surprises. A little entertaining. Keep on nudging your mind toward a saltlick, out of the ruts, and after some time, you'll find it easier and easier to not onlyi stay out of the ruts but to go on with your life while you are out. Thereby gaining new perspectives on the problems which constitute the ruts. Back to Saltlick Contents |