Helene Segura throws her worries away during the Feast of San Juan
De-clutter Your Brain
Picture this: Halloween and New Year’s Eve, all rolled into one event. It’s a raucous evening in Santiago de Compestela, Spain, where the citizens observe the feast day of St. John the Baptist (San Juan) every June 24th. At midnight on the eve of the feast day, neighborhoods light huge bonfires they’ve built to ward off the ghosts, witches, and evil spirits for the next year. Little kids throw sticks, scraps of paper, or anything flammable into the fire. Adults write down their problems and worries on pieces of paper and drop those into the fire, with a prayer that St. John/San Juan will take away their problems and grant them their wishes.
The evening is one of huge celebrations with eating, drinking, and dancing throughout the night. There’s much to celebrate since the good folks are theoretically free from all of their problems for the next 365 days.
Like New Year’s resolutions, there’s a little more to it than just writing down a wish. After acknowledgement, a plan needs to be developed and implemented. So in addition to tossing their worries into the fire, they need to follow up with a plan to free themselves from their top challenges.
What does freedom from worry have to do with organizing and productivity? Wrap your brain around this:
“Relaxation is the prerequisite for that inner expansion that allows a person to express the source of inspiration and joy within.” – Deepak Chopra
When our brains have freedom from worry, a great weight is lifted. We feel happy, relieved, and content. We have clarity.
Studies have found that people with clear minds are most productive because their brains have been de-cluttered, allowing room for problem solving and creativity to occur. That’s why great ideas come to fruition while at a retreat or while relaxing on vacation. The Rubik’s cube of our thoughts that seemed impossible to align after so many twists and turns can now be completed with a few artistic flourishes.
Throw Your Worries In The Fire
As I waited for my turn to throw my worries into the fire, I zeroed in on what I needed to do to make my worries go away. With a loud local band blasting away in the background, I suddenly started humming En Vogue’s hit from the early 90s, “Free your mind, and the rest will follow.” Just coming up with those steps was freeing. Taking action will be empowering.
So free yourself from a problem that’s weighing down your brain. Identify it, come up with a plan to either overcome it or live in peace with it, then implement that plan. Your brain will thank you with the gift of productivity.
Shut the front door! There are more posts like this? Yes!
About HeleneSegura
Thanks for the post Helene. You advise us to identify our problem and come up with a plan to either overcome it or live in peace with it. What techniques do you use toe help you do that? Thanks for the info!
Howdy, Alicia! Everyone’s situation is different, so the detailed steps will vary for each person. But the key is to pinpoint specifically what is causing you so much pain, what you want the end result to be, and work your way backwards creating a timeline of the steps you need to take.
Wow! This was very enlightening! We can take a mini vacation in our own mind while praying, having our quiet time, and just being still. I find that when I obsess about what is stressing me, I get more stressed. Then I take a deep breath (and very often my husband has to kind of figuratively slap me like Cher in Moonstruck and say “Snap out of it!”) and then I just do the next right thing. Thanks for sharing your insight and experience, Helene. You always appear to be following your own advice.
Thanks so much, Hope! I’m glad to hear that this post resonated with you. It’s so important to take a step back…and just breathe!