Weekly Tidbit: FInding New Balance

[Charly Hill]

I'm learning HTML, also known as Hypertext Mark-up Language, the predominant language for creating web pages. This is a phenomenal experience for me; computer technology has intimidated me for the longest time. I have always been right brain dominant: intuitive, creative, holistic, artistic, sensitive. I remember being chastised by a friend while playing pinochle when he asked me why I played a certain card and I told him "it felt like the right move". He counted every card and calculated odds for each play, and got rather upset when I won using intuition over rational logic. But that was my approach to most things. So for me to submerge myself in a world of linear constructs is both fascinating and foreign. I am looking at it from the perspective of integrating my brain function, of creating more balance in my thinking.

Finding balance in today's world can be challenging. We are encouraged to focus, to specialize, to find our niche. The problem with that philosophy is that a niche is also a shallow recess and there is often not a lot of room to grow in a shallow space. So choosing to take on a project that stimulates a routinely quiet part of the brain is one way to encourage a growth spurt, to upset the balance of the status quo in order to obtain a new balance that includes more of the whole.

Culturally, we are encouraged to take on the thinking characteristics believed to be associated with our gender, and frequently discouraged from expanding into the opposite meadowland for fear of not attracting a mate. "Don't let them see how smart you are, boys don't like that" and "Big boys don't cry" were common refrains in my childhood. And while in the 21st century, that appears to have changed on the surface, the underlying scripts live deep inside and die hard and slow, and can prohibit us from finding talents that are there for discovery. And it occurs to me that perhaps my rational linear thought process was active all along and mere hiding behind and guiding my intuition.

Research indicates that people who actively use their minds and have positive emotional outlook are less likely to develop diseases like Alzheimer's because they are continually creating new neuron pathways and avoiding the plaques and tangles. So much of our thoughts are repetitive (and unconscious)that intentionally inviting new ideas into our minds brings a flood of internal energy and vibration that keeps us vital and involved with life. So whether your primary arena is right or left, take on a learning experience that will stimulate your lesser involved brain cells. Invite them to the party and have a good time teaching them to dance.

"If you practice using your instincts with small things, such as whether you need your jacket, you will eventually be able to rely on them for the big decisions in life." Bear Heart with Molly Larkin in The Wind Is My Mother

Charly Hill
www.conversationsforchange.com