I was reading about how scientists are now reevaluating junk DNA. It’s all that DNA that doesn’t build proteins. Instead, they now are finding that these “non-coding” DNA are controlling the rest of our genes.
It makes me wonder if there is some junk DNA in our everyday lives. Maybe there are things you do all the time that don’t produce anything. Habits. You know, the way you prepare your coffee or make your bed. These routines serve no useful purpose. They don’t contribute to any work that you do. Yet are these habits totally without merit? Imagine if all your habits were gone? You don’t eat the same, sleep the same, or dress the same? Would you be productive? Probably not.
It’s the little bits of your life, these “non-productive” habits, that oil the machinery of your soul. They bring you bliss. Mostly because they ease the mind of thinking. You can’t be “on” your whole life. Your brain needs down time. That’s what habits are for. As you stroll through the routines of your life, they give your soul time to cleanse and your brain time to work out problems. Then, when it’s time to get to work, you’re ready to go.
Don’t shun the little things. Those habits you’ve built up, may actually make you more productive.
Tim Kane
I never looked at it that way, but you’re right. I know people need the down times and those habits give the mind time to work on other problems. Sometimes, when I’m in the middle of something mundane and I’ve been thinking about something, I suddenly stop and focus on what I’m doing. That’s when I realize that I’d been working on automatic because I can’t remember which sock I normally put on first – or, as in one conversation from Babylon 5 where Garibaldi and Sinclair are together in a small craft floating through space, whether I button and then zip or zip and then button. π
Don’t shirk the automatic tasks.
Couldn’t agree more, Tim. I am always writing even when it looks like I’m vacuuming, walking the dog, etc. My brain usually in hyper drive, so mindless activity gives me moments of peace. I use them to think/pray about really important things like world hunger and peace. A lot of that time is also spent being present, simply enjoying what I’m doing. It’s a battery recharger for sure!