Good Afternoon, TSJ Peeps!
Solomon and SJ are likely tired of seeing me right now. I have been home a lot during 
this past week. Since last WW we have had wind storms, power outages and disrupted lives in our area. And now we have a lot of snow, cold and poor visibility for driving.
On top of that TSJ headquarters is experiencing some renovation in the basement so drilling and hammering is drowning out thoughts and conversations at times.
So Solomon has been very quiet this snowy morning, except he wanted me to take a picture of his current view out the window.
Other than that, he seems to be leaving me on my own. And maybe that is wise of him. I am not sure I like it. But whatever his reason I have learned it always comes from a good place in him. Solomon has a strong sense of peace and rightness about things that I sometimes lack.
And I have also learned that whatever my personal response to his ways might be, it is about me and not him. I project onto him my own insecurities, my own restlessness, my own anxieties. In fact, now that I think about it, he muttered something about noticing I have trouble settling down sometimes. And he is right. I start too many books and too many projects at the same time.
And I am definitely not alone. I know that TSJ peeps also often feel overloaded and powerless to right the wrongs around them and within them. Solomon and I listen to our peeps daily and hear their heartaches and fatigue. We share this journey with each other. Sometimes we help each other clear out some of our mental clutter.
Solomon often says the most chronic fun spoiler in the life of humans is fatigue. Fatigue itself becomes an impediment to joy and happiness and inner peace.
So today I have been thinking about how much brain strain many of us are under. Today’s attempt at WW comes from being around the house more. You see, as I was cleaning off my counter tops I remembered something I had heard at a professional conference on Learning Differences several years ago.
Dr. Mel Levine, a pediatrician and lecturer on learning differences, told us that our brain’s “working memory” is kind of like kitchen counter space. (We have many kinds of memory, but for simplicity I am only referring to long term, short term and working memory). Since I understand what a counter top in my kitchen holds, this analogy makes sense to me.
A kitchen counter becomes messy when you are making different things at once, like cookies, salad and spaghetti. If you add some of today’s mail on top of that you have a lot to contend with!
Similarly, as with kitchen or bathroom counter tops our brains can only hold so much at one time. Admittedly the size of our counters or mental space may be different from each other, but the principle is the same.
So our brain’s working memory holds some information from long term memory and some from immediate input or short term memory long enough to do something with it (thus working memory). For example, if you are asked to repeat numbers backwards by threes you are likely using working memory.
Obviously, the more we we try to hold in working memory the more brain power we use- making it challenging to be efficient problem solvers. In fact we are even likely to forget what we know. Adding new information at such times is like adding one more thing to an already full counter top. That is why list making is helpful.
If you are fatigued emotionally or physically and finding it hard to problem solve, your inner counter space is likely getting full.
That is why Solomon is modeling quietness today.
Solomon claims his shepherd, David, taught him that God wants our cluttered minds because His quiet Presence will clear the clutter. All stressors, even the apparently good ones, dissolve more easily in times of inner quiet. The prophet Isaiah said, “In quietness and confidence you shall find your strength.” One thing at a time and one day at a time.
Solomon is smiling his big grin of love and encouragement.
