---snip---
Basically I read this article about sensory deprivation chambers and
I was thinking about how oversaturated I am with information and
cognitive simulation throughout the day, so much so that I'm always
operating in this state of panic that I'm missing something critical.
---snip---
I've talked to folks who've been in the I.T. world for many years and
finally burned out completely. There are just too many things to learn
and stay current on. I have times at work when I just go blank. I've
had too many problems to work through and things shut down for a bit.
I'm getting older so it doesn't surprise me for it to happen. I'm
trying to move towards a lifestyle where I can minimize the amount of
computereze I need to know and have the time to just enjoy thinking
about life in general.
Find a way to give yourself some space, a time when you aren't being
bombarded with stuff. Make that time the most important time of the day
and don't let anything interrupt it.
"As a nation we are rediscovering that intellectual exercise is not the
only necessary part of a satisfying life. We are rediscovering that
thought is an activity which occurs above and below the neckline. We
are finding out that the body is a partner in the thinking process.
Mental and manual exercise together shape happy lives.
Much of our thinking, we might say, is actually done with our hands. We
can discuss an object with someone for an hour, but if we let him hold
the object in his hands, his understanding of it will be immediately
more comprehensive. In short, we need to get the physical feel of
things--a factor that is frequently lost in a conventional education."
Calvin Rutstrum in The Wilderness Cabin
Since that was written in 1961, I guess we really haven't learned much.
It's not just I.T. that is trying to get by with fewer people. And I
don't see things getting any better in the future.
Jeanette Winterson - Journalism - The Guardian - 2002 - New Year
"We eat too much, we drink too much, we have too much stuff, too many
stresses, too many things to do. Ours is a society endlessly consuming
without the energy to process what we consume.
"Life has to be processed, or it lies in rotting heaps of discarded
emotions and unfinished desire. Talk to anyone for half an hour, and
once past the platitudes, you come face to face with a mound of
frustrations and left-over business. The therapy boom thrives on
left-over business, and whilst I am not against therapy, I feel that we
could all do more for ourselves if we understood the simple principle
of processing what we consume.
"Energy cannot be lost - it can only be transformed. We convert food
into heat and strength and movement - if we have too much, we store it
as fat. In a world that bombards us with sensory input, what do we do?
If we can't slough it off, our minds store it just as our bodies do -
as restlessness, as misery, as all the discontent that clogs modern
life."
http://www.jeanettewinterson.com/pages/content/index.asp?PageID=142