In 1984 the Pointer Sisters had a smash hit, "Automatic". One line of the lyrics was/is: "The way to control it is go to the automatic." For some reason, that song got into my head today and starting the cognition process.
Automatic. We all go there. It is the space and place where we can operate and navigate without thought of motion, intent, or content. I don't believe that we rely on automatic from a position of complacency but rather from a place of safety and security. Automatic can only happen after purposeful practice and practice brings reliability and consistency in whatever we are trying to do or accomplish.
What is your "automatic"? I have many "automatics", I realize. Those actions that come from somewhere deep inside of me and that happen without really thinking at all. When I am on "automatic" and realize it, I feel somewhat like one of the "Stepford Wives" who moved about as automatons with robot-like movements.
But "automatic" is not about being robot-like, it is rather as if I am unsighted and can accomplish tasks without vision or sound.
Take for instance the scenario of losing electricity during a storm. Getting ready to go to work is a challenge when you have to move about in the dark. Somehow your tactile memory comes through and you can find everything you need to shower, dress, apply your make-up and do your hair. (You hope.) Of course, there is always the sigh of relief when you get to work, check out yourself in a mirror and find that nothing is on inside out, there are no combinations of clashing colors or patterns, your lipstick is on your lips-not your chin and that there is no toilet paper stuck to the bottom of your shoe or trailing behind you.
Operating in the kitchen, in the dark, comes from automatic, doesn't it? Knowing exactly where each drawer is positioned, what is in each drawer or cabinet and where each object is placed. You can reach for a bowl, fill it with cereal, grab a spoon and pour the milk accurately over the cereal - all without the luxury of artificial lighting.
"Automatic" can also be a psychological state - a place we go, in our minds, that protects us from the buffeting winds of life, whether the winds be from external or internal sources. A psychological fetal position
that provides peace and tranquility when we need it the most.
Consider what your "automatics" are. Take them out, look at them, polish them up and keep them at the ready for when you are buffeted about. It is not a matter of if but when.
Ancora imparo
