Hmmm, do we need to seek out a different voice in these perplexing times?
Warmish weather persists later in the season in these parts extending well into November in recent years. The trees hang onto their leaves much longer. The final yard cleanup happens in mid or late November.
But this year the weather threw us a curve with several inches of snow on November 9th. We scrambled to get winter tires put on our cars, pull out shovels and switch to winter clothing. Looking out the window revealed an incongruent picture: a white blanket of snow with a dusting of colour from the multi-hued leaves atop it. It turned our expectations upside down.
Science tells us that when the brain encounters an unexpected event, it triggers a surprise sequence that involves a burst of norepinephrine which heightens alertness and attention. This neurochemical response signals that the event is important and needs to be learned from – theoretically leading to better memory encoding and a re-evaluation of the environment.
However, science also tell us that when confusing things happens, it disrupts normal brain function causing disruptions in neural pathways, misfires in memory or cognitive overload. This results in a temporary inability to think clearly or focus information efficiently.
It is probably a sign of aging that my brain jumps to the confusion response more readily than the surprise response. In effect, in situations like this early snowstorm, it revolts and says: I don’t like this. Make it stop!
Where exactly am I going with this line of thought? Well, it seems to me that, in the current state of affairs in the world, both confusing and unexpected things are happening with alarming regularity. Our brains are struggling to process what is happening and grappling with questions they cannot answer. For example:
How is that narcissistic, power-hungry individuals, whose personal agendas are all too transparent, are being elected to positions of power with increasing regularity?
How is that technology keeps moving forward at a breakneck pace but all too often loses touch with the best interests of the people it is supposed to benefit?
Why do the rich keep getting richer, the poor keep getting poorer and the middle class keep shrinking as it claws it way into one category or leaks into the other?
Society feels more and more like a puzzle with missing pieces. Intelligence cannot fill in the gaps. Our brains are not able to keep pace and increasingly default to the confusion response.
So what is the solution to the problem? You may not agree with me but I will say it anyway. We need to let the voice of the soul take precedence over the voice of our overtaxed brains. The soul is a guiding light that can break through the confusion if we seek it out. It operates on different principles that are better suited to these perplexing times.
The voice of the soul is quieter and runs deeper. We have to concentrate harder to hear it amidst the clutter. But it is more important than ever to seek it out and heed it.
~ Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet
~ Michael Robert Dyet is also the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel (now out of print) which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com .
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Tags: confusion response · guiding light · metaphor · Michael Robert Dyet · surprise response · the soulNo Comments