In The Zone

Sunday may qualify as one of the best days of my life so far. It was a better than average day but there was one section of it that was quite exceptional. I was making Almond Romaine Sesame Salad, which called for me to crush up two packs of ramen noodles, mix them up with almond slivers and sesame seeds, and brown the whole mess in butter and sugar. I was standing at my kitchen counter, busting up ramen noodles with my bare hands, listening to baroque music on the radio and NOT THINKING.

I was totally focused on a task and completely absorbed. That never happens to me. I've usually got a running commentary going through my head or I'm facing constant interruptions. But the two biggest interruption perps were otherwise involved: Riley had a school friend over and Lucy was taking a nap. Hours unraveled in my little kitchen while I was able to just be.

Of course this screwed me for Monday, when very little of my time is my own. But, what the hell! Now I have a benchmark for this level of mental activity. Sure, my day got started off in a panic when I forgot I was presenting at a meeting first thing. But that didn't turn out too badly as I had already prepared for the meeting the week before and it got bumped back. Then, I was held over on quitting time on a support call. Then my kids wanted to hang from my neck all evening; they were complete barnacles. All day I missed that totally zenned out state of mind and was trying to figure out how to recapture it and get it to work for me in other places than the kitchen.

So if you ran into me yesterday and I was a little prickly; I apologize. I was in full on porcupine mode. If you have any suggestions for reaching that amazing mental state more often; I'd love to hear them.