Note #6: Toilets, Tubs, & Trains

Harness the Holy Trinity

Sometimes, pressure is the answer. The heat of a deadline, the weight of an expectation, the drive to avoid a missed opportunity. You’ve got to turn that copy in, and need is the mother of invention, as they say. But sometimes an answer is still elusive. What’s the right ending? How do you fix that awkward transition? Where should the story go from here? If you find yourself running into a wall, it’s worth ensuring your mind has time to wander, and feel its way toward its own solutions. Often, those breakthroughs happen in the natural voids in the day. Meaning, try not to fill up every second with podcasts, TV, phone calls, or even books. Thoughts need space to roam.

I believe in a Holy Trinity of interstitial time — toilets, tubs, and trains. The shower, in particular, is a longtime ally, and a reliable escape hatch from everyday stresses and limits. The hot water somehow brings a rainstorm of new ideas, and I find myself turning the spigot when I need an assist. Trains, on the other hand, offer a new gallery of people, the sensation of momentum, and dull ads your thoughts can ricochet of off. Sometimes, a toilet is the only downtime a day provides. If you’re lucky, you might find a real mind-blower scrawled across the wall to ignite the imagination.

“Imagine all the asses that have been where your ass is now,” someone scribbled in a St. Louis stall once.

So, don’t yield these seemingly forgettable times and spaces easily. Let the mind work unwatched.

A (true) parable: this guy I know had trouble sleeping when he was younger. Nothing was helping, so a therapist suggested he tape record his thoughts to see if they could find a verbal trigger for the insomnia. The therapist would study his words and find the culprit amongst his legions of thoughts. Perhaps it was an anxiety at school, or a dread about the future. A teenager then, he tried, gathering a notepad and tape recorder, but he was intimidated at the prospect of someone reading the notes, like he was supposed to have these genius thoughts, so his pad contained just one phrase, over and over.

“Still Awake.”

“Still Awake.”

“Still Awake.”