The elusive pause button [||]

We all need to press it.  We all want to press it.  It becomes harder to press as more time passes between presses.  But pressing it is essential to the maintainence of the mind.  When it is pressed, nothing else matters.  Nothing else exists.  IT is the button which ables us to focus on a simple action so completely that there is no bandwidth for any other information to travel through the brain.  This extra information is all brought to a screeching halt and waits in queue for retrieval at a later time.

I was fortunate enough this past weekend to have such an experience during a martial arts test.  These tests are designed to push you beyond your limitations and to determine the strength of your body, mind, and spirit.  Near the end of the test I was beginning to wane dramatically during the fighting rounds.  I remember only three or four rounds of the eight rounds occurring, and as the fighting went on, I began to think of only one thing.  Stand.  It did not matter if I was hitting anyone, or if I myself was being hit.  I was entirely focused on remaining upright.  I don’t even know why this became my ultimate goal; as being laid out on the ground would have put me in a lower state of energy.

The real surprise was immediately following the test.  For the first time in several months, my mind was absolutely calm.  I did not have to think about quieting my thoughts.  My mind had invoulentarily paused all of the information that was not essential to standing up.  This feeling lasted for hours, and even now I do not feel like so much is happening that I can’t organize it or accomplish it.  Perfect timing, really, as final exams will begin in fourteen days.

Find your own button.  Press it as needed.  Noodle salad 🙂

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