Less thinking, more doing

The wonder of getting out of your head and house

Recently, I stayed with my niece and nephews while their parents traveled. Much fun was had. During a lull, I pulled out a book I vaguely remember from high school English class, As I Lay Dying. Please don’t tell Mrs. Thompson that my recollection of it is faint.

Flipping at random, my eye caught this quote:

Now and then a fellow gets to thinking about it. Not often, though. Which is a good thing. For the Lord aimed for him to do and not to spend too much time thinking, because his brain it’s like a piece of machinery: it wont stand a whole lot of racking…I have said and I say again, that’s ever living thing the matter with Darl: he just thinks by himself too much.

Makes an over-thinker think, doesn’t it? In the past couple years, I have begun to appreciate that the best moments of life involve getting out of my head and often out of the house: going for a walk, talking with strangers, writing at Starbucks, playing pickleball, even just getting around people.

It’s almost like the answers come in moments where it’s not possible to try and think your way through your problems.

As we create lives and work we like, less thinking and more doing feels significant. Less navel-gazing, and more people.

Life isn’t something we think our way through, it’s something we experience.

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