"The Brain Needs Simplicity and Awe"

This very timely article article from the Freelancer's Union popped up on my Facebook feed and is
a good one to share given the new focus of this blog on balance.

Our brains tune out repetitive information in order to become more efficient.  The problem is, as our days become more habitual with their long commutes and fewer vacations, time seems to speed by faster and faster. This is because our brains are no longer paying attention to the specifics in our days--no longer internalizing what we do.  This results in our days, weeks and months blending into each other in a fast blur of years-long sameness.

Time seems to pass faster because nothing is differentiating one year from the next.

The article mentions 4 things that we can do to help slow down time.  They all boil down to 2: seek out beauty and awe and simplify your life.

Cultivate Beauty and Awe

If we take time to notice the beauty that is all around us, to get away from our desks and computers and spend time with a variety of people, nature, animals, art and music, we will develop a variety of experiences that the mind can hang onto and stop spinning out of control.

Keep it Simple

Doing this may require us to simplify our lives.

More and more people today (the article said 2 in 5 Americans) are choosing to work fewer hours and actually take that vacation. Simplification requires us to cultivate the serenity to know when to say no and when to say yes.

The brains we were created with need us to feed them with a simpler lifestyle filled with beauty and awe. To do this requires us to make sure we keep in touch with the joy that comes from being specifically thankful for the beauty with which God has surrounded us.