The World of Blooming Buzzing Confusion
Selection from Joseph Langen’s book Navigating Life: Commonsense Reflections for the Voyage
Try to find your deepest issue in every confusion
and abide by that.
D. H. Lawrence
I was sitting on my porch the other day watching trees blooming and cars buzzing by. I thought of how the nineteenth century psychologist William James described the world as babies first see it, a world of “blooming, buzzing confusion.” Other psychologists have since speculated that babies can make more sense of the world than William James first thought. The dispute does not seem to have ever been settled to anyone’s satisfaction. But then, babies aren’t prone to lengthy explanations of their world view.
As adults, our world still seems to consist of blooming, buzzing and everything in between. Trees, flowers and plants slowly and gracefully unfold to share their beauty with us. People often buzz by, not wanting to share anything with us. They just wish we would get out of their way.
I have wondered lately where everyone is heading in such a rush. If we work ourselves into a lather trying to save a few minutes, what are these few minutes like when we finally get them? Can we enjoy them or do we need them to catch our breath after rushing to wherever we are headed?
Sometimes I think we are preoccupied with where we are coming from and where we are going, forgetting to enjoy the journey in between. I remember when I was young and our family would sometimes take a ride in the country. We weren’t trying to get away from anything in particular or heading any place special. The ride itself was the whole point of the adventure.
What would it be like if we looked at our lives as a ride in the country? What if we got our minds off what we were trying to accomplish with our lives, even for a little while, and instead concentrated on enjoying the journey?
We don’t often think to do this. Sometimes it is easier after a major illness or other setback. We are reminded that we won’t be here forever. Even if we win the rat race, we are still rats.
We can slow down from time to time or even stop to enjoy our lives rather than letting them slip by as we race to our next destination. On holidays, we tend to take time out from our hectic pace, but often we find chores to occupy us rather than spending time with the treadmill turned off. We can even fret our way through vacations. We work hard to make sure we are having fun rather than just letting the vacation happen.
Do you remember the Simon and Garfunkel suggestion “Slow down, you’re movin’ too fast” from The 59th Street Bridge Song? I think they had the same reaction to the bridge that I had to the traffic whizzing by my porch. Our lives lie in the space between where we start and where we end. Don’t let your life get away.
Action Steps:
- When was the last time you took time out from your busy schedule to just enjoy life.
- What was it like?
- When do you plan to do it again?
- What do you think you might have missed while rushing through your life?
- What would it be like to live your whole life in this moment rather than constantly pushing yourself to the next goal?
Book available at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Navigating-Life-Commonsense-Reflections-Mindfulness/dp/1974403890/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1623251876&sr=8-1