A VIEW FROM THE EDGE ROBIN TRIMINGHAM

“Viae ducunt homines per saecula Romam.” - Alain deLille 1175 AD

As with everyone, the one thing that the pandemic certainly has provided me with is plenty of time to think. Living as I do at the edge of an island where the sea meets the sky on a rock in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, one might well wonder what I can possibly contribute to the advancement of humanity.

Yes, I reside in the second most isolated place on the planet, but in a digital environment, that’s merely my geography – an all but irrelevant detail unless I am trying to coordinate a suitable time for a live zoom meeting with a colleague in Singapore or a training session for participants in Spain. The interesting thing about the pandemic is that for the first time in the history of the modern world everything just stopped all at once. Unless you were employed in an essential service, one day you were going about your life as you knew it and the next day, without warning, almost every aspect of your life simply ceased to exist and the boundaries of your world contracted to the size of the dwelling you inhabit. For many people residing in rural areas, a quiet life simply become quieter, but what was this experience like for people in urban areas?

Imagine being in New York, or London, or Sydney or Bangladesh or Kuala Lumpur; one minute you and millions of others inhabit a place that never sleeps and the next? Nothing.

When the din of traffic and humanity and music and outdoor spectacles of every description are suddenly removed all at once the silence can initially be stressful. Scrambling for ways to fill the void, while simultaneously trying to figure out how to survive lockdown either entirely alone, or conversely in close quarters with too many roommates, many people have unconsciously been drawn to their digital devices, clutching them tightly in the darkness, thumbs scrolling ceaselessly into the night searching for something – news, entertainment, human connection – anything to fill

the hours previously taken up by the life they once knew. But is this a healthy productive way to proceed in life? For as much as the age of internet has created the possibility of global connectedness on an unprecedented level, it’s addictive nature has also plunged large portions of the planet even more deeply into a reactive state so all-consuming they are neither fully aware of it, nor consciously able to unplug themselves from it.

Which leads me to ask a very controversial question: Even though you might have been clinging to it like a lifeline, what would happen if you made a decision to do the unthinkable – set time aside every day to consciously unplug yourself from this digital immersion? For as much as this is a time when people everywhere need to partner and collaborate digitally like never before to work together to solve problems, and formulate new ways of working and building business, it is also critical that we find a way to look upon this global situation with new eyes – by travelling inwardly inside ourselves to solve our problems outwardly.

As much as the outer world is currently limited and confined, the inner world is vast and limitless.

In the inner world, all people are created equal and all things are possible. It requires only that a mind focus precisely enough to journey to the answer to absolutely any question. It is a world where any person has the opportunity to solve any problem, find the answer to any question, simply by desiring to do so.

But focusing precisely takes practice, more than that, focus requires intentional thought. So how then, do you begin to use your mind to focus inwardly with “intention” when all the doors to this mind palace of wonders appear to be locked? Simply by seeking out and finding a way to stand in a place in your mind that is empty. There are many techniques and processes by which to accomplish this – some like meditation or disassociation you will have heard of but, as well as they work, you may or may not find these easy things to do.

Not being a personal fan of meditation because it always feels forced, almost stressful because you have to begin by sitting perfectly still in a position that I do not find particularly comfortable, I was drawn to a more natural way to clear my head that I can utilize no matter where I am, or what I am wearing, regardless of whether I am standing up or moving about.

While living on an island in a remote location does come with its own set of challenges, there are also some unique advantages including being able to watch the sun rise straight out of the sea each morning, or being able to stare endlessly into a turquoise horizon on my daily walks along the coast. For me, these walks have become a “moving meditation” if you will – one moment my mind is crowded with all the tasks and stress of running a company during a pandemic, and the next it’s as if I’m standing in the center of an empty room and my world is only as large or complicated as I allow it to be. Yes, the clouds and the sea and the horizon are still there but I am perceiving them differently – as an observer.

Standing then in my “observatory” I can then just as easily visualize myself standing on the summit of a snowcovered mountain in the Yukon as I can having launched the

next phase of my business plan. Visualizing the details of these unique situations in as much detail as possible, I can then begin to realize what I would need to accomplish to bring myself to these locations in my physical life and a path or series of steps, a “plan of action” begins to emerge.

There are as many ways to gain access to your personal observatory as there are problems that you can solve while standing there. The trick is that you have to consciously decide that you are ready to find it and be willing to unplug yourself to make it possible. In the absence of noise and distraction and selfperpetuated “busyness” you are quite literally alone with your thoughts. There is no social media to scroll, no email to answer, no Netflix to entertain, no news to shock, no shops to distract, no alcohol to drown out whatever it is that you have been desperately trying to avoid learning about yourself but the personal rewards for doing so are eminence.

Humanity is on the edge of an enormous transformation – the question is, are you ready to take the opportunity to join in the conversation and what will you contribute?

Robin Trimingham

Robin Trimingham is the Co-Founder and COO of The Olderhood Group Ltd., headquartered in Pembroke, Bermuda. She creates Career and Life transition strategies and retirement lifestyle education that strengthen employee engagement and retention.

An accomplished international presenter, Robin is also a weekly columnist for The Royal Gazette, Bermuda’s national newspaper and coauthor of “The Third Journey – Making the Most of Your Life After Work.” Robin is a thought leader in the field of future life planning and has coproduced three retirement lifestyle television series as well as several podcast series. Her global clients include employees from all walks of life and her down–to–earth presentation style and realistic life strategies make her message easy to relate to and meaningful. She is an Affiliate Member of the Institute of Coaching, McLean, Affiliate of Harvard Medical School.

www.olderhood.com