I don't know why but I find it more and more difficult to blog of late. Sometimes, I think I don't have enough ideas. Sometimes, I feel that there isn't anything worth blogging about. Or worse, sometimes I am just plain lazy. Make that most of the time.
I believe ideas are everywhere and can be tapped anytime. Of course I am not just talking about ideas about what to blog today and tomorrow and the day after next but referring to ideas in general. Ideas here can be as simple as thoughts, but I guess an idea has to have some sort of focus. Like when we constantly think about a certain topic in the weirdest places at the weirdest hours. That's my idea of an idea.
Place
Some may argue that ideas are formed by surroundings, which is part of the context (context is made up of both time and place). Well, at least that is what we learn in Sociology all the time. The ideas that we have about something are indeed shaped by what we see and hear, and many times too by what we touch, taste and smell. I know all the 5 senses are equally important to the formation of ideas but I am inclined to think that seeing and hearing alone can lead to the formation of ideas that are distortions of reality. Also, I think that when the sense of hearing is dominant, or used to such an extent that we forget we actually have to make use of all the 5 senses, the depiction of reality may be the most distorted.
However, here I don't wish to dwell further on what is reality and what is depicted. Rather, I have been interested in how ideas can be formed where you least expect it. We all need ideas, whether they are for a marketing presentation, an academic essay or a birthday party. We have meetings to brainstorm for ideas but indeed, we do not always get the best ideas during these brainstorming sessions. We sit at our desks in the hope of churning out brilliant ideas for our essays but sometimes all we get are mediocre ideas that will not get our essays past B. It is not because we are stupid or slow. The place must be right so that our ideas will flow smoothly. Perhaps that is why in the corporate world, people discuss ideas over golf, coffee or during their spa sessions.
Personally, my ideas about something are formed mostly on the bed. Weird place for letting your thoughts flow, especially when the bed is for sleeping or resting. However, I find that I can think most coherently on the bed, because I can go on and on thinking about something till I can't sleep. Of course, with neither pen nor paper near my bed (or in this age laptop and wireless adapter), my ideas may disappear just like that after a couple of days. When I try to recall what I had thought about the last few days, I can get even get a headache. I am lucky I have not forgotten about this topic of 'ideas' after a whole week. Well, perhaps it is the fact that a relaxed surrounding bodes well for the formation of ideas. But if so, how do people come up with ideas in prison? It isn't a very relaxed surrounding, is it? I haven't exactly thought about that, so let's turn to...
Time
This is also an important factor in causing how ideas are formed. I do not think I know how to argue convincingly for the formation of ideas over time, so I'll just stop at looking at the hours of the day. I am not sure my findings about myself are reliable but it seems that I get the most out of my brain just before sleeping and just after waking up. I may go surf the net to find scientific support for my personal findings but I do not have much time to do it now. Have got tuition after maghrib. For now, I'll just present why I think these 2 times are the best periods for the formation of ideas.
I believe I have a stronger argument for the flow of ideas just after we wake up. Our body and mind are both fresh and raring to go for the day, or for the night in the case of nocturnals. Our body repairs and replenishes itself during sleep and that can explain the freshness we feel when we wake up. Ideas flow when we are well-rested and fresh. However, not all of us actually feel fresh when we wake up isn't it? Within a minute or so, we can fall asleep once again. So perhaps the ideas come up best just after we really wake up.
Just before sleep is another period of time during which ideas can flow the most smoothly. This one I really do not have much of an argument. But I think it has to do with the fact that body wants to sleep but the mind doesn't. After a day's work or other daily activities, our body tells us we need to rest but the mind still have things to say before it closes shop. So the mind wrestles with the body and the mind wins so ideas keep flowing till the moment we fall asleep. Hurhur, that is so unconvincing. Actually, isn't it the brain controlling all our body's functions? Argh, I can't explain my personal finding here. But I just know ideas do flow well for me just before sleeping.
I do not have a conclusion to this post. Now, I am just sure of one thing. Place and Time are both important in causing ideas to form. Not a very conclusive way to end the post but I can't force my brain to think. After all, ideas are meant to be free-flowing (not forced), even if they have a focus right? Hmmm....till the day I have enough ideas about another topic, this blog shall be void of new posts.
I painted my dreams at
2:13 AM
