When we were very young many of us were exposed to Aesop’s Fables such as the one that taught us that “slow and steady wins the race…” in the guise of The Tortoise and the Hare. It is a much needed lesson that I have just had reinforced all these years later. Ever since my return from my last lecture tour my inbox has been overflowing. It seems there is always one missing piece of information that is needed before a project can be finalised, an official I need to speak to prior to sending off documents or a confirmation needed ahead of a looming deadline. The result is chaos, confusion and that overwhelming feeling of brainfag (an actual and beautifully descriptive word) that occurs when you have so many things that need attending to that you are frozen to the spot and unable to attack any of them.
Most mornings I write looking out, at canopy level, across an expanse of trees to the ocean beyond. The dawn chorus is full of much frenetic activity – I have often marveled at the metabolic work rate of the smaller of our avian brothers – as sunbirds, glossy starlings, weavers, white eyes, woodpeckers and robins bounce, for all the world like windup toys, from one favourite spot to another. In the middle of this chaotic noisome throng my eyes were drawn to stillness. Immobile as a statue, and just as mute, a gorgeous malachite kingfisher sat focused with keen intent on some or other prey, invisible to me. I watched for long minutes and was amazed by the sense of presence, the Zen-like quality of the moment; it was as if the kingfisher was at the centre of a ripple of stillness which expanded as my attention was drawn into it.
I realised on reflection that this was the essence of all hunters - absolute single point focus on prey followed by a burst of maximum efficiency – and homo sapiens is, like it or not, a hunting species. Carrying the feeling of stillness brought about by the avian Yoda with me, in a sort of a “….the kingfisher you must become…” way, I returned to my inbox but this time with single point focus and, slowly, step by step, the race is being won.
Namaste
Rod Briggs is an International Lecturer in the Mind Sciences. He has taught government departments, universities, Olympians and peak achievers in the corporate and private sectors from all over the world. He spends half the year in Europe and the USA on lecture tours but resides on the Dolphin Coast. Contact the Mindlink Foundation for one on one or group Stress Management Therapy or get Rod Briggs’ new book Simple as Breathing at www.mindlinkfoundation.com
Most mornings I write looking out, at canopy level, across an expanse of trees to the ocean beyond. The dawn chorus is full of much frenetic activity – I have often marveled at the metabolic work rate of the smaller of our avian brothers – as sunbirds, glossy starlings, weavers, white eyes, woodpeckers and robins bounce, for all the world like windup toys, from one favourite spot to another. In the middle of this chaotic noisome throng my eyes were drawn to stillness. Immobile as a statue, and just as mute, a gorgeous malachite kingfisher sat focused with keen intent on some or other prey, invisible to me. I watched for long minutes and was amazed by the sense of presence, the Zen-like quality of the moment; it was as if the kingfisher was at the centre of a ripple of stillness which expanded as my attention was drawn into it.
I realised on reflection that this was the essence of all hunters - absolute single point focus on prey followed by a burst of maximum efficiency – and homo sapiens is, like it or not, a hunting species. Carrying the feeling of stillness brought about by the avian Yoda with me, in a sort of a “….the kingfisher you must become…” way, I returned to my inbox but this time with single point focus and, slowly, step by step, the race is being won.
Namaste
Rod Briggs is an International Lecturer in the Mind Sciences. He has taught government departments, universities, Olympians and peak achievers in the corporate and private sectors from all over the world. He spends half the year in Europe and the USA on lecture tours but resides on the Dolphin Coast. Contact the Mindlink Foundation for one on one or group Stress Management Therapy or get Rod Briggs’ new book Simple as Breathing at www.mindlinkfoundation.com
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