Photographed at the Chattanooga Times Free Press on Thursday, Jan. 21, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn., Russell McGee is Genesis the Greykid, a new columnist for the paper. If you observe people long enough, you'll quickly see that we tend to be prisoners of ourselves, shackled by our own judgment. Which in turn, blocks us from being fully present.
If everyone lives with their own internal compass, it's in our best interest to make sure this compass of ours is working properly. The problem arises when we decide to check this internal compass; many feel it's a mystical process - like searching for baby unicorns in unexplored valleys of the earth - something that's hard to make tangible.
This transformation of a human being doesn't have to be shrouded in mystery. It's something we all can tap into. Here are a few simple concepts that we all have access to, ones that could help you explore your own process, your own pathways of presence.
Walk outside more
Throughout the day, many people go from one inside to another. From the car to the house, from the house to the car, to some restaurant, then back to the car, then back home, repeating a "cycle of insides" as philosopher Frederic Gros once put it. But a good, nice, long walk gives access to a utopia of presence. It forces your body, your nerves, your entire being to be pushed into the landscape you're moving through.
Bird, worm or something different?
There's an old saying many are very familiar with I'm sure: "The early bird gets the worm"; it refers to waking up early and being productive, eventually leading to the worm or reward.
Many feel they are unproductive if they don't wake up between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. Some of my friends have even pushed it up to 4 a.m. That's cool if you're a "bird," meaning you get more done before 9 a.m. But what if you're more like me, some hybrid worm-bird mix? A rabbit with antlers that flies and digs underground.
Your body will let you know what works best. Most of my "good" ideas come to me when everything else gets quiet. My mind operates more like a nightclub than a library. All the interesting ideas would show up late to the party, after all the responsible ideas went to sleep. So for me, waking up between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. is a terrible idea to do consistently. I'm at my best with six to eight hours of sleep, waking between 10 a.m. and noon.
An easy place to start is asking this simple question, "Do you get more done before 9 a.m. or after 9 p.m.?"
Power in silence
Being silent, not necessarily still but quiet, can help us focus the mind on the little things. It can help us take notice of the present. The idea being: If we're aware of all the little things, we'll be in-tune with the big things.
Love
This doesn't mean one has to get into some serious relationship to find the love. What I'm implying is this: You'll never become a whole human being without love. So find something to fall in love with - a career, a song, a belief, a poem, a person, the sun, something.
Remember, seeking truth means going beyond appearances. Making a practice of these things won't provide you with depths of wisdom overnight. What it does is develop your palate for absolute presence. And within that space, you'll possess the self-awareness to point your internal compass in whatever direction is most authentic to your true self.
Here's a Words In Grey exercise for you to explore:
The Words In Grey exercises are designed to get you exploring. The idea is to place yourself into a context you may not often find yourself in, then forming some ideas and language around those through poetry. It doesn't matter whether you're a writer or not, it's more about tapping into that "hidden wholeness," more about exploring. Through this process, we discover parts of ourselves and ultimately develop an acute awareness of the world around us.
Spend an hour, walking doesn't matter where (as long as it's outside), doesn't matter if you even have a destination or not, just walk.
During your walk, try to do it in silence. Go an hour without speaking, without talking on the phone, without texting or updating social media. Listen to everything around you. Feel where you are on your walk.
Write a list of what you love - again, this can be people, places or things.
Figure out if you're a bird or a worm or maybe you're some type of hybrid between the two. In either case, make time to sit with the things on your list of loves. Write a poem about each if you can. Really sit with it, take your time.
Genesis the Greykid was born in Chattanooga, raised in many different cities (military brat), but currently splits part of his time between New York, the Washington, D.C., area and Tennessee. He's a full-time creative who's been writing poetry and music for a living since 2011, recently releasing a book of poetry with creative exercises titled, "Words In Grey." Contact him at info@WordsinGrey.com.