Watching TV, playing computer games… Where did my will and attention go? Read on…
The Inner Escaper
Last time I talked about the Inner Rebel. There's another typical way we respond to pressure — by escaping.
Sometimes
we watch TV or play computer games for fun. Just pure entertainment and
pleasure. But sometimes we find ourselves engaging in those activities
with a very different feeling, a sense of "getting out from under"
something we really "ought" to be doing. And then it's not as much fun,
truthfully. In fact it feels more like being caught up in something
that "I" can't seem to stop.
There could be other activities
that feel that way to you… are there? If you're not sure, ask
yourself, "Does it feel like there's something else I should be doing?"
And I hear some of you saying, "There's always something else I should be doing!"
Therein lies the difficulty. If there's a part of you that's so worried about how far "behind" you are in your life that it is always urging you to do more, no wonder another part of you needs to escape!
There's
a part of us that keeps saying we have to do more, and another part of
us that looks for chances to get some escape from that relentless voice.
And this can feel endless and hopeless, like the cycle goes on and on.
The
way out is to stop identifying with either side. Don't BE the voice
that says you have to do more, and don't BE the escaper who feels
beleaguered by too much to do. Who you ARE is the one who can be with
both of them without taking sides, the one we call "Self-in-Presence."
How
to do that? Start by acknowledging the sides. "Hello to the part of me
that feels so anxious when we aren't doing something from the To-Do
list." and "Hello to the part of me that just wants to get away and
relax."
Being able to move into the larger perspective of
Self-in-Presence isn't the last move, it's the first. Once you're
there, you'll be able to listen to the different parts and they'll feel
safe enough to open up to you. (That's key! If you're not
Self-in-Presence, no one inside feels safe.)