on finding my flow & slowing down
Virginia Woolf once said the only prescription for me is to have a thousand interests. She was, and still is, relatable to me. I have a thousand creative passions, and to me, the epitome of happiness is immersing myself deep into these hobbies and interests, to eventually reach what positive psychology coin the flow state.
I plan to discuss this in a later post, but briefly, flow is defined as being in the zone - when you are so deeply absorbed in a task, fully energized, focused, and involved into the process, despite its challenges. In a way, this complete absorption makes you forget your surroundings, almost altering and transcending all sense of time. I believe it is key for reaching a content, blissful state of mind. It is my ideal definition of happiness.
My mind is always buzzing, humming, like a machine, ricocheting with ideas that I believe will somehow change me (and maybe change the world). I chase from task to task, from interest to interest. I may be reading a book, but my mind begins to wander, planning my next task or project (What artist do I learn from today? What will be my next book?). I almost forget what passage I was just reading. So I end up rereading the page I thought I was just done with.
My almost-chaotic state of mind has been exacerbated due to summer. University is still a month away, and before I get back on the grind with arduous coursework and time-consuming projects, I am trying to get in as much creative projects done as possible. And as someone with a thousand interests, as Woolf is, I am finding it challenging immersing myself into one flow state to another, when all I want is to immediately jump to the next task.
I think this is what got me to write out this post in the first place. I am a workaholic by nature. I am also constantly chasing the next task, next goal, the next achievement, when sometimes all I need to do is slow down, take things gently, and mindfully scrutinize my surroundings.
When was the last time you read a long, fat book, paid attention to every word, and actually absorbed what you were reading? When was the last time you went to the sea and watched the birds for an hour, uninterrupted? Or listened to a full song, from start to finish, while your mind wandered in peace? Have you stopped, for once, to count your blessings?