Automatics

When things are going pretty well, I get up, shower and shave, dress and start my day without having to think about what I'm doing very consciously. I'm in and out of the shower without really thinking about how I soaped up or rinsed or toweled off, shaved and scrubbed without really giving the steps of it a second thought, because I was thinking about other things I wanted to think about instead, or enjoying ideas for writing that just popped into my mind out of nowhere, or music that came to me as I did these routines.

That's how I know when things are going about as good as they get: I don't have to consciously attend to my routine tasks to complete them efficiently. My mind goes on "automatic" for them, like it functions when we walk down the sidewalks or drive to our jobs. We don't have to think about how to put one foot in front of another or often, even where we're going, because part of our brain's doing it for us "automatically."

Of course, it's not always a good thing to drift into other thoughts while we drive. We may miss our turn or stall when the light changes and get honked at with a Bronx cheer, Or we might have put on the wrong clothes for where we're going, or forgotten to shave, etc. But generally, we don't. We usually do pretty well on "autopilot" for many of our routines, and to me it's a sign things aren't too shabby.

However, it can be pretty weird when we're driving someplace and are on such autopilot that we don't remember the last fifty miles or so, and suddenly find ourselves in a far different place than we were aware of. But for the most part, the more I can do "automatically," without having to think it through, the better I feel.