Critical Adjustments – January 9, 2022 (9/365) – JB's Personal Brain Defragmenter

So that’s that… First post for this quarter’s theme made, first message preached… well, preached last night, but shared today.

The temptation to celebrate a little too much is very strong, but before anything else, I would just like to share a couple of thoughts here and there.

For one thing, two straight days now I’ve been sleeping without the assistance of my phone; in fact, my phone has been placed far away from me, so far that I would have to really get out of bed to get to it. In its place are my red-tinted shades, and I have books at my bedside. I didn’t read The Once And Future King last night though; for some reason I circled back to the book of Genesis, cruised through the account of Adam and Eve, the genealogy, and the last parts of Noah’s journey. There were a couple of thoughts here and there which I may have wanted to record, but it wasn’t a study I was doing in bed, it was just straight up reading… and I’ll admit, it was reading to get to sleep. Because, yes, there are only 2 things we ought to be doing in bed anyway. I’ll just leave that there for you to define.

Also, I’ve been thinking, while I’m at it, I probably should just get rid of my Facebook and Twitter apps on the phone… or would that be a little too extreme? I find myself glued to the screen once I open up to those two apps, and I notice a pattern my mind and body seems to go through; I go though Facebook first, check for updates, scroll a little, then move to Twitter. Check for updates, respond if necessary, scroll a little, retweet, like, etc., and then move to YouTube. Look for interesting videos to watch then and there, or download for future consumption. Maybe I go through emails to get rid of all the junk that’s made its way to my inboxes on that day – by the way, that probably shouldn’t be the norm and I really should get into unsubscribing, again. I go through LinkedIn every now and then. In fact, I’ve also just recently installed Gettr (thanks a lot, Joe Rogan), and I’ve gotten back into Minds as well.

On the side, Gettr and Minds… I may be more active on these, and I may set up automation to keep the guise of being active on Facebook and Twitter. Oh, by the way, I also forgot Instagram… and even in Instagram itself I have 3 accounts logged in.

So it does take time to go through all this… enough time to convince myself that between the time I checked on Facebook and cycled through the rest of Social Media, there may just be new stuff to look at on Facebook.

And the vicious cycle continues. It’s sad that I’m so hooked, like this.

The way I see it, I may want to just setup a time in the morning and a time in the evening to go through each app. I hesitate now to remove the apps because Facebook is just so much faster on mobile compared to the sluggish performance on Windows, even on my good ol’ desktop. Also, Twitter seems to be setup so fast paced that you do more on your thumbs than you would on a keyboard and mouse.

So imagining it now, sure, it’ll be part of my morning checking, along with other systems I need to take a look at and make sure are running soon as I wake up.

BUT before even looking at any screens, well, I think it’s fun that I’ve been doing breathing exercises and consequent meditation first thing in the morning. As I’ve been avoiding devices before I sleep, so it seems that I’m also avoiding them in the first moments of my day. I think it’s just as well, because I do see myself being more productive that way.

Here’s another thought I’ve had the confidence to face today:

When we define a person according to the memories we’ve had with her, as well as the actual experiences we have with her… we confine ourselves just as much as we confine her to our limited minds. In fact, we may be confining ourselves so much more… because in some cases, they’ve already moved on, and you’re left to fend against the memories and the images on your own.

I said a little prayer before I got rid of some… imprisoning memories which I apparently carried with me wherever I went, even without mention of it.

I mentioned in today’s message that the love that we share to each other is a necessary love – it’s necessary in that we definitely need it now more than ever, not to implicate that we’ve slowed down or stopped in loving, but we’ve grown comfortable and now we see that hate and apparently so many other hindrances to love and life have multiplied in quality and quantity… and we aren’t even aware of it.

It takes some analysis and explanation but you eventually understand the underlying tones and points behind when they say that if you love someone you have to let them go. And here I was thinking I was pretty good at this, but hey, count on a combination of numbness and pain to humble you just enough for you to keep your senses sharp.

I know I’m talking gibberish right now, and you don’t really have to understand all of this.. but I appreciate the time, nonetheless.

I actually have something in mind – a tribute of sorts to the said memories that I thought were all that mattered when it came to a person important in my past… perhaps, just to etch in on stone, so I could probably walk away easier.

As I mentioned before, it’s tough to find someone who doesn’t want to be found… and I know this, but apparently, I could be so stubborn.

Where are you, Chelmi?

I spaced out a little there. Anyway, I just also want to say that I seem to be getting a whole lot better now, compared to last Sunday night, which left me feeling really crappy. I mean, my mouth, nose, and throat were dry and runny at the same time, and I had that legitimate scare that this was far more than just my body reacting to the cold. Today, thank God, it’s all going away. And, bonus, I could say the same for my Mom, who’s also been feeling under the weather.

With that said I suppose there will be no more excuses for me not to go all out starting tomorrow. There’s my First Quarter obligations – taxes and all that. There’s also the loss of excuse to go slower on my workouts, and I certainly can do with less processed foods and sugars and desserts. I’ve enjoyed, and I will continue to enjoy this routine involving less of my cellphone. There’s so much more to do, and so many more adventures to take.

For now, I think I will turn in, and hope to wake up early and refreshed to start Monday with a bang.

Thank you for your time so far.