This week is an amazing in having all the most frustrating parts of myself exposed on the page.\u00a0 Except, it wasn\u2019t exposed on a page for me\u2026it was burrowed into my ear.\u00a0 Let me explain. I have been managing the books for this class as I go, and my \u201cprocrastination\u201d had always worked out.\u00a0 Either Amazon came through, or George Fox Library where I happen to show up to every Monday at 5 for my son\u2019s saxophone lessons, or my public library\u2026which I am not locked out of because I can\u2019t remember my password!\u00a0 Well, all of this scramble and pressure filled searches finally found me out this week.\u00a0 Perhaps I was focused on the huge spring break trip I took with my husband and 3 whining sons, or perhaps, I had all of my prefrontal cortex energy on my other class in this Doctorate finishing my other responsibilities.\u00a0 I could not find the book in time\u2026procrastination found me and then perhaps it was the universe giving me a little slap awake.\u00a0 The answer for me finally came in using my husband\u2019s library card and finding this book on audio.\u00a0 It was a refreshing way to hear information this semester, but now I had a new problem, how was I going to find quotes and even more troubling is how would I cite these words?<\/p>\n
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In my listening, I found the chapter that really gave me insight and drew connections of this semester.\u00a0 It was chapter 6, or scene 6, \u201cGetting Past a Roadblock\u201d.\u00a0 There seems to be 2 lessons I have learned specifically from this chapter that will help me move forward into the coming years in my learning as well as in my career.\u00a0 In the audio book, the narrator tells the story through the eyes and experiences of Emily and Tom.\u00a0 In Scene 6, \u201cgetting past a roadblock\u201d, the scene starts with Emily being confronted at work with hundreds of emails and presentation proposals due by end of day.\u00a0 The author did a great job walking through what was going through her mind as the anxiety and pressure of the day filled her first minutes in the office and her mis-prioritizing her emails and getting lost in responding to these.\u00a0 As a mom, supervisor and Chaplain and leader, I often feel as if I start my days the same way\u2026lost in what seems to be calling me to the present moment.\u00a0 I love the present moment, it\u2019s what we have all have, period.\u00a0 I preach this daily to my dying patients and their families, but this book has opened my eyes to the growth edge of this strength and truth, being lost in the present moment is what it is, but I have control over how I establish my present moments in a productive way and with intention.\u00a0 Rock has given me 2 gifts: how to organize and use my brain to my advantage, and how to extend grace to myself, and the secret gift is that I can utilize both to address suffering and to find Joy.<\/p>\n
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In scene 6, I learned that procrastination isn\u2019t bad, but I can structure procrastination to my advantage, as I have always found writing or doing tasks, especially one\u2019s I\u2019m not as excited over can be best done when I\u2019ve waiting to the last moment.\u00a0 \u201cEmily can bring ideas to her stage with less effort if she writes when a deadline is close and her writing seems to expand to fill the time available\u201d.[1]<\/a>\u00a0 I have always done my best work when I am up against a deadline, and this doctorate is no different, however, I now have the maturity to know that this style has consequences beyond me when it comes to others.\u00a0 No one writes alone I guess I would say?\u00a0 I have a lot of confidence in my intelligence and even as a critical thinker and student, but I struggle with writing in general.\u00a0 This semester has been a great revealing at how rusty I truly am and how procrastination is not always a gift.\u00a0 In my syntopical essay thus far I have good content and still very happy with my chosen topic, but I am a horrible writer with grammar, with Turabian and with academic voice.\u00a0 I write like I speak and that is not going to work for me, and it means my poor project faculty member has a lot of work, and I owe him a coffee or more in Oxford! Whew!<\/p>\n \n Scene 6 gave me a great guideline as I head into years 2 and 3. \u201cSchedule work, clear mind, 1 idea at a time, reduce external distractions and veto internal distractions\u201d.[2]<\/a>\u00a0 It is the work in the last guideline, veto internal distractions, that I find a close connection to what we have learned in previous books as well as in my work.\u00a0 As I continue to research suffering, hope and death I have embraced a concept I plan to use to help healthcare workers sit present to suffering and have the courage to talk about it, even when our culture says or our internal voice says don\u2019t.\u00a0 Rock speaks to being aware of our own internal voice and veto when it is sabotaging ourselves.\u00a0 I have read an exerpt from How can I Help? Stories and Reflections on Service <\/em>by Ram Dass and Paul Gorman.\u00a0 In the chapter labeled Suffering, Dass and Gorman write about the \u201cDispassionate Witness: It is a self-witnessing that notices how our reactions might be perpetuating denial or fear or tension in the situation, the very qualities we would like to alleviate in others.\u00a0 The Witness catches us in the act, but gently, without reproach, so we can simply acknowledge our reactivity and begin to let it fall away, allowing our natural compassion to come more into play\u201d.[3]<\/a><\/p>\n \n I am unsure of where this is in the book, but I leave you with this blessing moving forward with compassion and respect for our brains. \u201cMay your cortisol levels stay low, your dopamine levels high, your oxytocin run thick and rich, your serotonin build to a lovely plateau, and your ability to watch your brain at work keep you fascinated until your last breath. I wish you well on your journey.\u201d\u00a0[4]<\/a><\/p>\n \n [1]<\/a> Rock, David. Your Brain at Work: Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long. <\/em>NY: HarperCollins, 2020. (audio book Scene 6).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [2]<\/a> Rock, David. Your Brain at Work: Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long. <\/em>NY: HarperCollins, 2020. (audio book Scene 6).<\/p>\n