All of us at times suffer from an overactive mind. When a favor to a family member offered a rock solid, enjoyable & yet complex solution yielding peace, I was pleasantly surprised.
Last week, I had the awesome privilege of being a primary caretaker and official playmate for my one- and two-year old nephews (with reinforced support provided by my parents). Given that my own children were this age over 16 years ago, I was not ready for the mental and physical challenge that this task would take!
But through this process, I found something incredible. My mind, at the end of every night, and especially all day, had no time to process, no time to think! It was a wonderful peaceful bliss.
And after an entire week of this, it was nothing short of a pilgrimage for my overactive mind. As someone who is always mentally planning, creating, or deducing, it was a welcome respite. My usual 3 am wake-up call (from my mind) outlining everything I had to do never came. At the end of each day, the weariness that my mind and body felt provided a built-in “no thinking,” mechanism. My overactive mind was refreshingly mute, or simply too tired to speak.
The Present Moment Wakeup Call
The beauty of young children is that they drive you to be “on,” for them and their needs, right here, right now. And they are not shy about it! Leave them alone too long, and you may have a crisis in your hands. During my pilgrimage, I was constantly living in the present moment – feeding, changing, carrying, entertaining, and laughing with my nephews.
It took all the pressure off my mind. I wasn’t necessarily planning except for the next few minutes ahead. I was no longer worried about yesterday or tomorrow and replaced it with the present moment mind: What do I have to do right now? What am I compelled to do right now? Move the full teacup out of reach from my nephew’s swift hands!
Waking Up to Go-Go
The idea of inter-generational care, nursing homes paired with children’s day care centers, is proven to be healthy for all parties. Babies don’t care who plays with them. They simply demand immediate attention and swift compliance. They are ignorant that your back that might hurt or any other of your “issues.” There is no time to discuss, ponder, or otherwise complain about any ailments, woes, or insecurities. You are free to be you, without any labels, and your attention is firmly placed elsewhere: away from your problems!
And despite the chaos, fatigue, lack of sleep, and general lack of adherence to “a schedule,” I enjoyed every minute of it! Whereas kiddos offer little in “free time,” they proffer an abundance of emotional and physical health benefits. The extreme exercise reignites youth and vigor, while capitalizing on the present moment, garnishes smiles, hugs, and genuine love. With these gifts being just the tip of the iceberg, I may be crazy enough to do it again!
If taking care of kids (or meditation of course), to help calm your mind, doesn’t sound appealing to you, read some of the other ideas below.
4 Ways to Calm an Overactive Mind
1. Get so physically active so that your mind is also taxed.
2. Find an activity that need more attention than your mind does due to risk of injury (race-car driving, babysitting infants, learning a new skill, etc.).
3. Replace multi-tasking with “present momenting”. Too often we get lost in multi-tasking with passive activities (TV, internet, or email) that do not offer anything concrete but are a way of “passing time.” Instead, give 100% to what you are choosing to do, whatever it is – stay only here (mentally). Activate “present momenting,” whenever possible by constantly asking, what do have I to do now? And now?
4. Use intentions and emotions to achieve your goals. Instead of worrying about today or tomorrow, think in the opposite direction. If you are worried about finishing a project, think “I intend this project to be done by Friday. I will feel fulfilled, vindicated, satisfied, when it is complete.” And then live in the joy of that emotion for a few minutes.
5. All of the above. (Last week for me :-))
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