A Mythical Land

A black canvas mounted in the dark

In a mythical land of the unseen

The paint brushes are the eyes

As colors come alive in the mind

Flowers hide the field that bears them

As brushstrokes of the wind guide their dancing smile

Sunlight skies are painted at night

With etchings of the stars, erased at dawn

On a perfect day, the elements are at play

A perfect night is an invisible sign

Seen only in the mythical land

A nameless realm that bears us all

Work in balance

Talk given at World Precision Instruments, Sarasota, FL on 9-25-2013

“ Without rest, a man cannot work; without work, the rest does not give you any benefit. ”

— Abkhasian Proverb

There are only a few things in life that are certain. You can count the 24 hour clock as one of them. Day after day, no matter who we are or what we are doing, we are bound by this 24 hour clock. If you leave out 8 hours for sleep, we are left with 16 hours to complete our daily tasks, which may include work, play, study, eat, read etc. Broadly speaking, our waking hours are consumed by either work or leisure. Everyday, we experience an undercurrent of thoughts that help or hurts our work-life balance. It is easier to achieve this balance if the body and mind are in tune with one another.

Deep sleep provides rest to the body and the mind. In this state, both the body and the mind are in a natural state of harmony despite one being unaware of it. When the mind is completely rested, the body rests and when the body is completely rested, the mind rests. Sometimes, sleep seems more refreshing than work. During sleep, rest is a passive process that starts with the body and envelops the mind. During work, rest is an active process that starts with the mind and this in turn affects the body. The waking state is a working state as far as the mind is concerned. When one leads a highly predictable and conditioned life, one can almost predict what the state of mind would be on any given day of the week. As an example, a “weekend mind” that feels strong and refreshed may turn into a “weakened mind” come Monday morning.