Just Keep Writing (Unedited)

This is an exercise in not stopping to write for five minutes. You sit in front of a computer for five minutes, and make any effort not to stop typing for even a few seconds. The important things here isn’t to make sense, it isn’t to make no mistakes, grammatically or contextually. What’s most important is that your fingers continue to make music with the keypad of your laptop or your computer.

It’s when you don’t stop to think about what you’re going to type that you can really write down your thoughts. It’s when you write down your thoughts that you finally have an opportunity to look at the information from another view point. Sometimes the hardest things to say are the most important things to say. When you’re forced not to stop writing is that when you see your thoughts for the first time.

This is an exercise I learned in 8th grade during english class. The entire class had a black and white notebook, which we opened up at the beginning of each class and we wrote for five minutes. The teacher would only yell at you if she saw you stop writing. You didn’t have to share what you wrote. You could write down over and over again, “I don’t want to be writing anything right now”, if that’s what you desired. I think I did that a few times.

Right now, I’m laying on a yoga mat on the middle of my bedroom floor. Yoga opens up your heart. How? Movement. Your mind and body are closely connected. Which is why it’s important to train your mind to be physically healthy, and to exercise to be mentally healthy. Different types of physical activities affect your mind differently. Playing tennis for example, which I did with my friend Andy last night during the sprinkling sunset, forces you to learn to act quickly in response to the actions of others. Something we must learn to do in every day interactions. You say something, I say something back. A form of verbal rallying. On the other hand, Yoga is about moving slower than you’re used to, every muscle movement being intentional. Noticing the affect of each movement on your body, and reacting to this reaction with another movement, aimed at relieving yourself of any uncomfort.

Mental uncomfort will manifest itself as physical pain in your body, which is why we need a massage when we’re stressed. This means that relieving yourself of physical uncomfort can also relieve you of mental uncomfort associated. The study of yoga involves understanding the ties between your mind and body.

Neuroscience is fascinating. As technology continues to improve, we’re continuing to understand the human body and mind better. One of my favorite things about the Dalai Lama is his love for neuroscience. He’s been a big supporter, hosting a yearly meeting with the top neuroscientists of the world, speaking at neuroscience conferences, and convincing his top monks to fly to San Francisco to get fMRI scans.

I watched Cloud Atlas last night. It was a great movie that inspired me to work hard to make the changes in the world I want to see, while simultaneously appreciating my insignificance when looking at time as a whole. The most I can do is make a drop in the ocean, but the ocean is nothing but a multitude of drops. Both is true, and a significant truth to me.

Thanks for reading. I wrote more than five minutes worth, because there was more on my mind than I imagined. I imagine I could keep writing for eternity if I tried. I imagine the same is for you. Our life is a story, a story we tell by living it. Long friends are important, because as is the truth with any story teller I can imagine, we just want someone to read and appreciate it, maybe even learn from it.

So sit down, write a little, share it if you feel like it, and appreciate whatever emotion this brings to you.

Yohei
11/11/2012 2:49PM


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