I've been jolted back into the world of blogging, it seems, thanks to a good friend's recent decision to launch herself into the world of internet words. I admit that I'm cheating a little, because I'm going to steal her thoughts and add on to them with my own. You can see her original post here. She begins with a quoted ad that's really a poem about thoughts and the importance of thinking them. We all think; whether our thoughts are average, subconscious, grandiose, or just plain bizarre. Some people argue that the capacity to think is what makes us humans distinctly different from all the other species of the world. I have no idea if that's true or not, but thinking is a pretty incredible thing.
I often have conversations with myself in my head. Or I have conversations with other people. I recite poetry, sing songs, compose fiction, yell at myself, curse others, obsessively repeat words or phrases that strike my fancy, and count my breaths. I see pictures, hear voices, remember past events. A teacher once told me she thought I did a lot of living in my head. It's true. My head is a sounding board for real life. Before I say anything, write anything, or do anything, I think it through first. (And if I don't, I usually regret it almost immediately.) Sometimes my brain is so wired I can't sleep at night. At times I wish I could just shut it off and stop thinking for a while. But overall, I love to think.
Some of my most productive thinking takes place in my bed late at night when I should be falling asleep. That's when I come up with solutions to life's problems, stories that need to be written, conversations that must be had. It's dark and quiet and there are no distractions to lure my thoughts away from where they should be. (This post is being written as I lie in bed.) Another place I do a lot of thinking is in the car when I'm driving. My most creative thoughts come through then, which is unfortunate, because most of them then disappear before I have the chance to write them down.
My brain is also supercharged by theatre and concerts. After watching (or better yet, performing) I feel like I can do anything I want. I can write that novel or play. I could change the world for the better. I'm not sure exactly what it is about performance that charges me so powerfully, but my brain churns out the thoughts left and right in the hour or two after a performance. It's a creative high that is really quite impossible to describe, but one of the most extraordinary experiences I've ever had. If it wasn't 2 a.m., I might do a better job of explaining, but as it is, my brain is slowing down bit by bit.
I wonder, though, where do you do your best thinking? And what charges your brain?
