Play, a Key to Faith and Trust
Sometimes faith and trust fade. They can be particularly elusive when we allow our stressors to get out of control. I’m not immune. So many opportunities to reach happiness we chase with self-doubt. Yet, those of us with adhd don’t have to reach that far. Bending down is all it will take, that 3yr old (for me), maybe you were 7 or 8 or was it 4 or 5, stepping in to the joyful, playful, full-hearted soul you are. It is still there. It was kicked out of you like the wind. The pieces that fell away are so very close. Bring them back and own them once more. Breathe.
I love the break from work, thinking, too hard. Whatever you do to break from work can teach you so much. The 50/50 rule – first decide how much time you want to spend doing an activity you want to avoid before you stop and spend the same time playing. Then find work and play are both part of WORK, your mission, your passion. Linear time and activity is so different from creative time. Creatives, oooh I love that so much, more than ADDers and all the rest. (Relax, it’s just a mindset.) Play is actually a lot of the work of children. Play is unfettered. Clear and Free. WORK lives in play.
I’ve “graduated” from my 50/50 rule. Sort of. It’s just that what use to be work, when I let it, transcends and becomes play – like now. Writing to you, swaying to Al Jarreau. “I’ll get by.” And just now, my little girl puppy, Sasha says it’s time to come in. So in she comes.
When faith and trust fade, look to your playing. Al sings, “You don’t want to see me.” Hmmm, when WORK becomes work, do you see yourself? When it seems too hard, it might be. Trust. Let what’s easy be easy.
If you don’t know me, you may think, how obscure. Know me and what I say may still seem obscure. If you’re meant to be here something will tug at you. Stick around. I’d love to be part of you getting it, defining it, or joining me to share it. Stick around, or come back. I’ll tell you what helped me put this in words. (It might help you.) And, please do show up. Share your spirit in words. However you speak them is right. Well, except if it’s not. L)
Learning Styles and ADD
As a kinesthetic learner, I notice the slightest change in my environment. I may not know what the change is. And, if any of my piles, pens, white boards or sketch pads have been disturbed I know it. I have lots and lots of pens. I have all colors. I have white board pens, permanent marker pens, highlighters. I have my special gel pens. Whoa be unto the thief (in this case my DH) needing paper or pen to write down a phone number from their voice mail.
I’ve heard that individuals with ADHD benefit from having strong visual cues in their environment. I’ve also heard that many individuals with ADHD are visual learners. I didn’t get that these two groups were exclusive. What I understand is these two groups are totally inclusive.
Here’s my question: Wouldn’t it follow that what ever type of learner you are you would notice the slightest stimulus of your learning type? Wouldn’t a visual learner notice the slightest visual nuance? Or am I missing something?
And, what difference does it make? There is great value in know your strengths. Knowing the strengths one has in learning styles is very empowering. That information can be applied to improve abilities in gathering information, processing information and communication. Isn’t that worth knowing?
Can anyone enlighten us about this? If you can, we’d love to hear your insights on ADHD and Learning Styles. Leave your comments.
About [ADD AD/HD or ADHD] Digression
Needed more than 140 characters.
And, did I want to increase traffic on my blog? Your point?
What’s typical for the neuro-typical individual isn’t typical for the ADHD individual. Hmm… If it’s not okay to write ADHD individual, then why is it okay to use neuro-typical individual. Or rather, when we use neuro-typical as an adjective what makes using ADHD as an adjective inappropriate. There is just way too much pissiness around disability jargon. Don’t ya think. And, doesn’t it simply add to the crap already mounting (horendous visual – sorry) around ADHD being a negative?
My advisor/mentor in grad school use to say this about my writing. “Go ahead and write. Then when you edit, [dump] your first paragraph. Think he was seeing my first thoughts as me just warming up. Looking at the paragraph above, I’m thinking. As a single piece, he’d probably say the same about the first sentence. I’d say, okay; if your neuro-typical or maybe just my advisor. But if you’re ADD, you know the first sentence as a part of the paragraph definitely makes a difference in meaning. Don’t these neurotypicals know there’s a method to our madness. Okay – trite. Do ya think we’d be so boring as to say, written or spoken, anything that was boring. Do tell. Really. . . . drop down (to comments) and comment.
(Neuro-typicals? When you think in terms of conservation (conversation?) of speech don’t just jump to conclusions – read between the lines or consider double meanings pre-insert foot. Ah, used a cliche. Again.)
Paper Piles an ADD Nightmare
Do you struggle with paper piles? Do you have paper monsters that multiply like weebles in Starship Enterprise? Is it a challenge you continue to battle or have you found success with strategies you’d like to share with the rest of us?
Sometimes I really suck at this ADD thing. I’ve started more articles that not only haven’t been finished, have found homes on my computer that I’m clueless to. They’ve been abandoned in piles that litter my office, crept into our living room and somehow climbed into the chair we’ve got in the bedroom.
I’ve come up with a variety of paper management strategies with my clients. Until now, I’ve been one that managed okay with piles. Yes, hunting for a note, a bill, even checks not cashed has caused more than occasional grief. Recently though, the joke I’ve made of my piles has hit the wall. The urgency is my cleaning person, who I hired to help me get and stay more organized, can’t stop herself from moving or stacking or – god forbid – boxing my paper piles.
She was supposed to be in today. But, something personal came up so, I’ll see her next week. Good thing too, cause I wasn’t quite done. It’s okay, make fun. No matter how I grump about this woman, She definitely lights a fire under me.
What I’ve done is grabbed all my piles and placed them each in their own drawer in plastic rolling carts. The carts came set up with either 3 large drawers (all drawers fit 8 1/2 x 11 paper easy) or two large drawers and two small drawers. Think just smaller than the typical deep drawer and short drawers on a traditional office desk.
Playing around, I discovered the drawers could be separated and put back together in any combination of large and small. The best combination for my writing is 4 large on the bottom and 8 small on top. I got a bit irritated at how easily the drawers slid out, uninvited. So I fixed that with stick-on Velcro. I’ll be ready for my cleaner, as soon as I push the carts back into my office.
I’d love to hear your thoughts, ideas, your strategies. If you’ve battled this yourself or are still battling it, what have you tried? Coming together to help each other is a strong place to come from and go to. A tweak may be all it takes for an idea that seems crazy, or plain doesn’t work, to be successful. Please, share your thoughts in the comments section below. And, if you think someone might benefit or could help us out here, please pass this along.
