Mental Clutter and Hummingbirds

Hummer in warmer times

Do you know where hummingbirds go when it snows?

I just returned from a hike that I take into the Rocky Mountain Forest behind my house. After some gorgeous May days, we may be getting two feet of snow tonight. The snow was falling so quietly on my walk, but the birds were singing, something I have missed during the winter. I do worry about our 5 hummingbirds staying warm. They have been here only a week.

Hiking by myself is one of the ways that I clear my mind of mental clutter. Once I see the pattern of bark on the Ponderosa Pine, or the harbinger of spring – the delicate violet Pasque Flower, my mind leaves behind the obsessions, fears, pain and what ever else I have allowed myself to obsess about at the moment.

It actually takes 40 minutes of hiking for me to clear my mind sufficiently. Then I can come back to the house, endorphins popping, ready to be with my life and work a different way.

I can’t do this when hiking with somebody else tho. It takes a rare person to want to actually want to be on that hike – instead of prattling on about generally inconsequential things. Does that sound harsh? Maybe. But when I am in the world of nature that is so much bigger than me, and seems to know so much more than me, I feel my troubles shrink down to a manageable size, if not totally away.

I like to try to steer my companions thoughts to the things around us – that gray granite boulder that looks like a giant hamster, or the alpine house that holds the people from Finland who have live up here over 40 years. Most times my pointing things out does not sway my fellow hikers from extolling their current story line – they are so fascinated by their stories, oblivious to all the life and grandeur right in front of their faces.

We all do this, of course. We find a uneasy comfort in the clutter we continue to collect and drop in our brains. And, like clutter on your kitchen table – it does multiply if you allow it!

I heard that a normal human’s brain thinks negative thoughts 80% of the time. Add to that reams and reams of totally inconsequential knowledge. I still remember my first boyfriends’ ham radio call number. That was a long long time ago (WB4WAH)! The other day somebody asked me my phone number. Distracted, I gave them a number from 4 years ago. I didn’t even know I still knew the number!

Fortunately I have learned to steer my brain around, much like a boat, and make decisions about what island of information I can visit or even pitch my tent onto. And more and more I steer away from the negative clutter, and steer more to life affirming foundations and dreams. It took a long time for me to achieve this type of discipline, but if I can do it – anybody can.

Of course this takes mindfulness and awareness. Two things that sound so peaceful and attainable, and most times so far away. It’s a lifelong process, I am finding.

I guess I should list ways you can declutter your mind, or steps to ….. but you know – I’m still in the spaciousness of the snow, looking for shivering hummingbirds. See you soon.

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