pete and repeat

Outer Banks and Rick at Deale August 2011 059Why do we try to figure out what we already know? Just a bad habit? Or more?

About 2 years ago, I had a dream and discovered this spirit animal connection, but when Facebook  presented a friend’s results, I had to test it. How many times do we have to be told the same things? How many times before we believe it or stop trying to prove it to ourselves?

Your Spirit Animal is an

Owl

Like the owl, you are highly intuitive. You can trust your instincts above all else, and you listen to your inner guide. You can see what others don’t or won’t see. You see everyone for who they truly are, and that frightens them.  You are a natural lie detector. You can see past masks and facades. No one can hide from you. You have a quiet and gentle wisdom. You don’t go around bragging about how smart or wise you are.  You are good at uncovering potential in yourself and others. You are a catalyst for positive growth and change. You have a lot of creative and dynamic energy. You are focused on all of the possibilities in life. Verbatim from an online test!!! Why did I even have to ask?? http://survzilla.com/survey/2202029/What-is-Your-Spirit-Animal.html

How do I know about Pete and Repeat? It was in a 1931 comedy film directed by Fatty Arbuckle. Yes, I am “that old”. Actually, I always thought Fatty Arbuckle was a kid’s joke, not Pete and Repeat. Come to find out, it’s a standard joke format.

Why do we allow the Joke to be on us? Why do we keep trying to find out what we already know? Several reasons. 1. It’s too hard to believe or goes against the grain 2. It’s outside our comfort zone 3. we wish it wasn’t true 4. We don’t trust ourselves 5. We have nothing better to do with our time than test a principle that is already clear- sort of like researchers who keep asking the same questions- when they already know the answer- a lot safer and easier than asking a question they don’t know the answer to 6. we want the answer to change, because we think the world or our situation or ourselves have changed

Personally, I can’t stand it when someone starts explaining to me what I already understand better than they could and repeat ” do you know what I’m saying”? Oh yeah, I do know what you are saying! It is clearly new information to them, but the kicker is why don’t they ask me if I have considered this XXX subject/ situation before launching into a detailed “repeat” of what I know? Well, why would I be bothered by a friend or family member doing this, when I do it to myself constantly??azalea

A friend of mine is delighted by yard work. He buys little tools and operates one every day. He spends daily energy charging them up. He goes out and tinkers with a bush or a tree every day. It’s a trim here and a clip there. The grass needs to be mowed every week. All bushes need to be watered. I bow to his yard passions, but I don’t share them. I like the slightly unkempt natural growth of things. If the grass starts to get a little out of hand after 3 weeks, I consider when I might get to it. If the tree branches start to rub against the house, I will find a way to stop that annoyance. If the bushes grow a little natural, I like it over the well shaped silhouettes of a master pruner. Why do I think this is a prime example of pete and repeat? Every time I hear from him, he does not fail to ask me “how’s the yard”? The yard is like an old friend more interesting than myself. He wants to know if any insects have been gathering, if I have watered the grass during a dry spell and if I have been “charging ” up the variety of tools he knows are in the shed. Answer, nope, nope, nope. Have no idea and no I have not been out in the tool shed. I have been busy with learning and going elsewhere. If every time he asks me, I remind him that these things do not interest or matter to me, he persists? What does that mean? Same thing as me trying to ask questions that I already know the answer to.

Why do I shop for oceanfront property that I can’t afford? OR boats? I am asking myself how to get what I know I can’t. Such a waste of time. The same way my 10 year old granddaughter has asked her parents over and over for “a horse”.

IslandIn Blue Mind, author Wallace Nichols explains the surprising science behind how being near, in, on or under water can make you happier, healthier, more connected and better at what you do. You’ll read it once and then come back to it time and again as you begin to realize how your love for water has always shaped your decisions, feelings, behavior, choices and lifestyle.  A good book review covers the premises that are scientific, emotional and physiological. The benefits of nurturing our blue mind go beyond just feeling good. Our blue mind is up against two other common states, as Nichols explains: red mind (stressed, anxious, overactive yet underproductive) and gray mind (numb, lethargic, demotivated and unsatisfied). Red and gray mind states are products of our modern lifestyles, habits and choices. Blue mind is a natural state that we all instinctively know but that many of us have forgotten.

Maybe, I should repeat to myself- there’s no place like by the water, there’s no place like a home by the water….and be satisfied with any water, anywhere!! Stop asking myself what I know already and get to the “blue mind”.