Item of Interest || What Happened to Downtime?
from 99% an article stressing the need for disconnection and creation of privacy:
What Happened to Downtime? The Extinction of Deep Thinking & Sacred Space.: There has been much discussion about the value of the “creative pause” – a state described as “the shift from being fully engaged in a creative activity to being passively engaged, or the shift to being disengaged altogether.” This phenomenon is the seed of the break-through “a-ha!” moments that people so frequently report having in the shower. In these moments, you are completely isolated, and your mind is able to wander and churn big questions without interruption.
However, despite the incredible power and potential of sacred spaces, they are quickly becoming extinct. We are depriving ourselves of every opportunity for disconnection. And our imaginations suffer the consequences.
Read more at: http://the99percent.com/articles/6947/What-Happened-to-Downtime-The-Extinction-of-Deep-Thinking-Sacred-Space
This notion of a need for down time fascinates me, David, as it's something I have found in my own experience. I sometimes resist the need for it, but somehow it happens in spite of me: long loopy times when I can't produce a thing but must twiddle my fingers and hope something happens to my thinking to give me a fresh burst of energy again.
ReplyDeleteEventually it happens, but in that quiet down time I can feel very uncomfortable. It doesn't surprise me therefore that others resist the need for a deep thinking space.
I'm pleased to meet you over at my blog.
What I found interesting about the article is the fact I tend to seek out more private, meditative time in order to generate ideas. A mere half hour-or full hour walk usually does the trick for me. Right now my main distraction is my eight-month-old boy. But having said that, he currently is getting more and more independent, leaving me larger windows of opportunity.
ReplyDeleteI found your blog through a comment you left on Art Durkee's Dragoncave site. Look forward reading more of your thoughts.