To Drift?

We are never without a pilot. When we know not how to steer, and dare not hoist a sail, we can drift ... The ship of heaven guides itself, and will not accept a wooden rudder. —Ralph Waldo Emerson

U. S. Andersen writes in his book The Magic in Your Mind, "Shakespeare's Hamlet in his famed soliloquy pondered, `To be or not to be,' and thus faced squarely the primary challenge of life. Most people only exist, never truly are at all. They exist as predictable equations, reacting rather than acting, walking compendiums of aphorisms and taboos, reflexes and syndromes. Surely the gods must chuckle at the ironic spectacle of robots fancying themselves free, but still, when finally the embodied consciousness rises above the pain-pleasure principle of nature, the true meaning of freedom is made apparent at last."

We all exist to some extent in the manner that Andersen describes, as mechanical robots reacting to everything life throws our way—reacting, overreacting, consumed by all the external happenings in our life, living life entirely by our five senses. The question we have to ask ourselves is, how long are we going to live like this? How long are we going to be mechanical robots? How long are we going to drift through life? Without question, I have had far more times of drifting in my life than times of action. I think this holds true for most of us. Many of you may be offended by this statement and feel that you have no time to drift, that you work hard, that you are always busy, and that drifting is the last thing you'd have time for.

But even though much of your "busyness" may be necessary, it could also be considered a form of drifting. The reason I say this is because in most cases, very little creativity comes forth when you are constantly doing. Your mind is preoccupied with all the things you have to do. The never-ending to-do list in your mind is always unfurling.

In Christian McEwen's book World Enough and Time, writing about the artist Paulus Berensohn, the artist is quoted as saying, "`Creativity can be very fast and very spontaneous.' But first there had to be time to dream and drift, to listen and attend. 'Imagination comes into us before it comes out of us. It is a receptive, a feminine process ... imagination for me requires slowness; slow and savor.'"

It's easy to fall into this trap of doing. It makes you feel productive accomplishing daily tasks, checking items off your to-do list, running from here to there at a frantic pace, always racing the clock to get things done. We all do this, and it is a necessary part of life.

There is also a feeling of importance that comes along with being busy. I must be an important person, because I am so busy. You hear it all the time: "I'm too busy now." "I don't have time to do that." "I'm crazy busy." You receive Christmas letters from people who talk about how busy they have been the past year and how quickly the year went by. The primary message for the entire year is how busy they were.

Obviously, it would be a pretty boring Christmas message if they wrote about how they drifted all year and did absolutely nothing! But drifting and slowing down are also a necessary part of life, and we all need that. It is during this drifting or slowing-down time that creativity and genius will surface. It's a time to let your mind be still and open to universal intelligence.

We all have things we have to do, and as you will read in the next chapter, busyness and taking action are necessary if you ever want to fulfill your dreams and desires. But slowing down, taking time for yourself, being alone, drifting, will give you access to your greatest powers, ideas, revelations, and creativity.

How often have you heard someone say, "I know you're busy, but ... can I take a few minutes of your time?" That one really makes you feel important. I am so busy that I can't give someone else any of my time! How special does that make you feel? I can't give another person any of my time because it is far too valuable, and I am too important!

I have employees come into my office all the time who say this very thing: "I know you're very busy, but ..." and I always tell them, "No, I am not busy." As a matter of fact, I am probably the least busy person in the company. But I don't tell them that!

It is rare now to find anyone in an airport who isn't talking on a cell phone, texting, checking e-mails—all way too busy to have any idle time, any time to pause and reflect. To observe. To take in the sights, the sounds, the beauty. Today's technology has given us a way to escape the present moment. It's like an addiction, and if you took away the toys, what would the addict do? Alone with yourself and your thoughts! Could there be any worse punishment? And yet, as will be shown, this is the place you need to go. It's where all your creativity arises, where the greatest ideas and thoughts come from.

Dr. Joseph Murphy, in his book The Miracles of Your Mind, writes that author "Elbert Hubbard declared that his most important ideas came while he was relaxed, or working in the garden, or going for a walk; the reason being when the conscious mind is relaxed, the subjective wisdom comes to the fore. There are oftentimes inspirational uprushes when the conscious mind is completely relaxed."

Today's technology is a wonderful tool and has given us access and the ability to work from an airport or almost anywhere in the world. When I am in the airport, I do the same thing. I use my cell phone, check e-mails—it's a great place to get caught up on your work. But I also spend time doing nothing. Don't be afraid to sit quietly and observe. Walk the terminal with no agenda. The answers you were looking for on a particular business problem or personal issue may come to you as you stroll through the airport with nothing on your mind. You may come up with the perfect response for an e-mail that's been troubling you. And even though you may feel that you are not being productive because you aren't checking e-mails, texting, or talking on your cell phone, you might be pleasantly surprised at the revelations that come to you.

I am not telling you this so that you will drop everything and start drifting through life. There is nothing wrong with being on the go, talking on your cell phone, running errands, taking care of life. We all have things we have to do, and despite how boring or mundane they may seem, they still need to get done. I do the same thing every day. But rarely does anything great ever come to us when we...