The Curious Case of Cackling Crows
I love taking long walks, noticing the world around me. By noticing and getting curious about the world around me (and the world inside my head) I find myself more peaceful, more aware, more open to the moment and to the treasures around me.
Cackling and cawing.
A flock of crows in the woods, flitting about, chatting with one another, seemingly oblivious to me or the cars on the road nearby.
Are they just making noise because that’s what crows do? Is it some sort of basic, simple communication system? Or, are they talking about what to have for dinner, Gladys and Herman’s falling out, how well the kids are learning to fly and how brave some of them are in the corn field?
An ornithologist, I’m sure, could answer some of these questions—but right now I don’t care about the answer.
The questions and the curiosity are just too enticing.
For the first time in my life, I’m looking at crows and not thinking something like “if you’d just shut up I could sleep a little longer!”
Suddenly, in their mystery, they are interesting to me—and that makes life in this little sliver of time more interesting.
I may, when I get home, google ‘crows’ and find the answers to my questions. But for now, I’ll put down my paper and pen, look up, listen, and enjoy the wondrousness of the world when curiosity rules the roost.
(And here’s something extra curious: A group of crows is called a “murder.” This name came about because a group of crows will sometimes kill a dying crow.)
Notice. Get Curious.
Before you can get curious, you need to notice something. Otherwise, there’s nothing to get curious about!
You may notice something that’s shiny and new, or a movement in the distance, or a sound.
You may notice a thought in your head, or some words that come out of your mouth. Or words that come out of someone else’s mouth..
You can notice things in the physical world, in the spoken world and in the world of your mind.
And every time you notice something, you have the opportunity to get curious.
And that’s when the world gets a lot more interesting.
Your Treasure Hunt
This is a deceptively simple, incredibly powerful, and way-too-much fun practice that will get you “curiouser and curiouser.”
When you notice something, keep your attention on it and get curious.
When you notice your mind working, keep your attention on it and get curious.
Don’t try to understand anything. Don’t try to fix or change anything.
Notice. Get curious. Just look, see, listen, explore.
It really is that simple!
When Bad Things Happen To Good Treasure Hunters
Sometimes I forget that I’m on a Treasure Hunt. All of the fun and the playful strategies move into the background, and I don’t think about it. I just go about my life.
And then, when I least expect it, I occasionally rediscover what it means to have a Life Powered by Treasure Hunt. I had one of those moments not long ago.
–Barak
I’d been growing a little alarmed about how angry, frustrated, resentful and deflated I’d been feeling all day. I wanted to scream and yell and throw things and explode over every little nothing.
- Omega/Swan Nebula, taken by the Hubble Telescope
Until I remembered that Russ had died.
Russ was one of those friends who pass through your life and make a big impression for a just a short while. We were in the same karate club when I was in graduate school. Russ got his Ph.D in astrophysics, moved to Baltimore and found his treasure doing research with the Hubble Space Telescope.
About a month ago he died of complications from surgery.
I discovered this as I was trying to get in touch with him for the first time in several years, and to get together for a beer for the first time since 1993.
I had a good cry when I read he had died. Russ was a great guy, and I was very much looking forward to seeing him during my stay in DC.
But I didn’t make the connection that morning when I noticed I was angry, annoyed and frustrated. Hours later, as soon as I remembered about Russ and noticed what my brain was doing, all of the anger went away, replaced by simple sadness.
Treasure Hunt doesn’t always make life a jolly, playful, pain-free adventure.
Treasure Hunt is simply a metaphor that helps me (and perhaps you) navigate through life. And sometimes, life doesn’t seem to want to be navigated easily. Sometimes the going is tough.
The fundamental navigation tool of a Treasure Hunter is curiosity, the simple curiosity of a little kid. When I realized that there was something really unusual going on, I didn’t try to fix my anger, or find the root cause. I simply got curious about what was there right now, and suddenly it all became clear. Here’s what I got curious about:
- What’s happening around me, right now?
- What am I feeling, right now?
- What thoughts are going through my head, right now?
- What physical sensations am I having, right now?
- Where am I, right now?
This is simply making a treasure map of the present. It’s a way to get yourself located where you really are.
For hours, when I was just angry, I didn’t realize that there was something to get curious about. But within minutes of engaging my curiosity, I remembered Russ had died, and all of the anger, rage and frustration floated away in a moment.
Your Treasure Hunt
Curiosity is something we’re born with-it’s hard-wired, like breathing. It’s the fastest, easiest way for us to learn, grow and develop. (It releases the same neurotransmitters as falling in love-a nice free bonus!)
You can practice getting curious anytime, anywhere. The more you do that, the more easily you’ll be able to bring curiosity to bear when the going gets tough on your Treasure Hunt.
Spend a few minutes getting curious about the same kinds of questions I asked myself.
There’s no right or wrong way to do this. What you discover won’t necessarily be something you can describe or talk about.
At first, when you get curious, you are simply noticing what’s there. Over time, more learning, growth and development will happen, but for now, just get curious, notice what’s there.
Put your attention on each of these for a bit, and get curious:
- What’s happening around me, right now?
- What am I feeling, right now?
- What thoughts are going through my head, right now?
- What physical sensations am I having, right now?
- Where am I, right now?
All day long, all week long, get curious. Rediscover your simple curiosity, up it a level or two, play with it and have fun.
That’s the shortcut to becoming a Treasure Hunter.
Happy hunting!
Barak
Potato Chips Are an Excellent Source of Potassium
Last week my chiropractor told me to get more potassium to help me heal after a minor injury.
I went on a potassium hunt. Beyond bananas, though, I wasn’t too sure about my options.
According to the website I found, there’s lots of potassium in avocados, raisins, potato chips (!), beef and dairy products.
But none in grains.
Which got me to thinking:
If there’s potassium in beef,
and there’s potassium in milk,
but none in grains,
and cows eat grains:
How did the potassium get into the cow?
And my brain got stuck marching down that path.
I went to bed in Tulsa and woke up in a swamp
Ever get stuck in a swamp?
For Treasure Hunters, a swamp is that place that you don’t like, didn’t want to go to, and land in over and over. Some examples of swamps are:
- Ending up in that same kind of job situation. Again!
- Being in that same kind of unfulfilling relationship. Again!
- Failing at the new diet. Again!
- Getting into the same fight with someone you care about. Again!
- Racking up the credit card bills and getting angry with yourself. Again!
- Having way too much to do and handle. Again!
Swab those decks! Empty those holds!
What an empty hold looks like
What do pirates spend most of their time doing at sea?
They swab the decks.
And what do they do when back in port?
They empty out the hold.
If they didn’t swab the decks, and keep things ship-shape all of the time, then sailing around would be a lot more difficult.
And if they didn’t empty out the holds when they got to port–selling the treasure they’ve plundered and getting rid of all the empty barrels–they wouldn’t have room for any new treasures. Or rum! (more…)
What Treasures Are You Hunting?
I have to admit to some professional jealousy: despite the recommendations of countless people, and hearing oh, you’ll love it, he’s thinking just what you are!, I couldn’t bring myself to read the 4-Hour Work Week.
Until tonight. I finally started in on it, and was amazed at how thoughtful Tim Ferriss is, how heartfelt, and how, well, really, really smart.
(That he’s a great writer and storyteller doesn’t hurt either!)