Have You Got the Time?

Dr. Janet Taylor

Okay... let's see. Schools out for the summer and let me guess - you're bored already. What's up with that? I mean, it's okay to have some downtime, you probably deserve it, or not. Anyway, everybody should take a 'brain break' now and then.

A 'brain break' is when you just let your mind wander. Practice now... take some deep breaths in and out through your nose, close your eyes and focus on what you feel inside and hear going on around you. Notice what thoughts are bouncing around in your head.

How'd that feel? Kinda weird?? If you felt strange, it's probably because you're not used to just thinking and being still. Go back to when you were taking deep breaths and zoning out. Do you remember what thoughts were going on in your head and how body felt?

Find a piece of paper and write down what you were thinking and where you felt it in your body. Have you done it? Okay good. Now look at what you wrote down. Does it match? For instance, if you were thinking about shooting hoops later today - did you get butterflies in your stomach or did your palms get sweaty?

Butterflies may mean you're excited, sweaty palms may also mean you're excited, it 's up to you to realize exactly what you're feeling. Let me give you another example. You know that feeling you get when the rollercoaster suddenly drops. That on the edge, ohmygod drop. It's funny, you laugh, ha-ha. But if you're on an airplane and you suddenly get that same feeling and oh by the way, the oxygen masks drop, it's not so funny.

Same feeling, different idea about it. What I'm trying to tell you is that knowing how your body feels can help you judge where your head is. Sometimes your head can get you into trouble, because you don't listen to what your body is saying. Learn to use what you think and feel.

I'm sure that you have heard of Socrates, Plato, and Artistole, etc... The greatest thinkers of our time. Ya know what they did? They said, we are going to just think and write and try to figure out stuff. They turned out more books in less time than ever in history. Imagine that. Brain breaks.

So the next time that you're bored. Close your eyes, take some deep breaths and think about yourself. Who knows what you could come up with?

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