It Starts with Popcorn

Popcorn is a useful metaphor. Kernels explode and transform to become something completely different. If you open the pot at the wrong time, individual kernels will scatter in every direction, leaving you scurrying without any control.

It’s not unusual for my brain to whirl like a cyclone with too many ideas, concerns, deadlines, and action items. The kernels are popping all over the place and sleep is elusive. Recently, the exploding kernels, diverse and intense, presented like this:

• 13th, a documentary by Ava DuVernay about the centuries-old and ongoing subjugation and brutality of African Americans

• COVID-19’s trajectory and the deaths that have resulted from blatant disregard for Americans’ health and safety

• New clients and partners for a major effort on climate and/or democracy

• Volunteer responsibilities for the Sierra Club, Open Democracy, and NH Businesses for Social Responsibility

• Elections

• Cleaning my house

• Three male family members in the house

• Planning to get outside to hike

You get the picture. Kernels all over the floor.

Yet, popcorn can be a blessing. Some of my best ideas come from connecting the dots, or in this metaphor’s case, putting the popped kernels in a bowl and enjoying them collectively.

Here are some tips that may be helpful if your brain is exploding with kernels:

• Drink a full glass of water, slowly

• Write down the action items you need to do and the ideas in your head right away

• Get outside, walk around, look at the vastness of the sky

• Consider where you want to start

• Commit to a task that is physical, productive, and yields specific results

• Share your ideas or solutions with 1-3 people in conversation or in writing to cement them in your mind

Maybe these tips will be helpful to you too. Please let me know if they do and share what works for you.

Susan Kaplan, Principal, Sustainable Futures Consulting