Thank Goodness It's Stopped Raining

Today is starting out better than yesterday.  I slept last night!  Didn't wake up at 5:30, but I'll settle for a 7 o'clock rising.  The challenge for me still is to stay focused on the task at hand.  I've got my list for today to help. 

According to the spreading activation theory of memory, any concept is linked in our brains to other related concepts.  If we allow our thoughts to freely flow from one concept to another along those links, we can end up at a very different place than where we started.  For example, if I think of the word, "duck," my thought process might go something like this:  duck -> cover -> 1950's -> hula hoop -> first grade.  I might begin thinking about a bird and end up thinking about Beau Radford, who used to sit next to me and hold my hand in the first grade.  Actually, it's fun to do this with a group of people.  Choose a word, and have everyone write down every idea that comes to mind for one minute after hearing the word.  Sometimes there are common themes that emerge, but, as people move farther away from the original concept, thoughts diverge.  It's interesting to hear how our minds work as people read their lists.

I don't go quite that far in my thinking.  But thoughts about things on my to-do list can lead to thoughts about what life will be like if and when....  I know that everybody thinks about the future, but, for me, thinking about the future can get out of control.  Besides, nothing has ever turned out as I imagined it.

Anyway, I have hope for a good day today, a good night's sleep tonight, and an early start tomorrow.

I dreamed a thousand new paths. . . I woke and walked my old one.  ~~Chinese Proverbs