Is Your Mind in a Cage?

Moving from the Binary out into the Open Space of an Extended Mind*

It’s a “working from home” day and I have the house to myself for once: just me, my thoughts, my work and the gently drifting snowflakes outside. I’m productive and focused until I receive a disturbing message from a client that sets my mind spinning. I feel like a caged animal. A brief conversation with a colleague helps me gain perspective that I want to write about. I grab my notebook, cup of tea and head to my favorite chair. But the phone rings and it’s someone I’ve been playing tag with, so I answer. After that call, I pause. Do I write or do I go outside for a walk? Can I afford to do either when I have a mountain of work to do?

The drifting snowflakes win. Donning my boots and sleeping-bag-coat, I tromp across the field, duck into the woods and stand at the pond’s frozen edge. Chickadees and purple-finches flit and swoop around me — an unlikely scenario in the depth of winter. I take in the scene and listen to their lively chattering while thoughts of my dilemma from earlier settle and soften.

I have experienced gentle renewals like this far too many times to count and marvel at the gift of it. Nature offers me fresh air, an invitation to breathe deeply and bird song that rejuvenates me. The cloud of agitation has passed and I return to work.