HIPS: Need a reset? Here’s One Key To Refreshing The Brain

By Bryan Hyde

COMMENTARY -- You’ve likely noticed how we are constantly being reminded of the evil or the danger embodied by others and how this narrative is used to convince us to give certain people authority over us and our lives. 

Conventional wisdom teaches us it is our duty to do so.

Our news cycle tends to highlight the worst and most divisive words and actions of humanity. 

No wonder we tend to view ourselves as broken and unworthy of anything better.

Instead of agonizing over who should be in charge of telling us what to do, we should be wondering why we’ve forgotten how to trust our own minds and to follow what our hearts tell us is true.

Breaking free of these mental shackles in order to see the world in a more positive light requires learning to see ourselves in a light most of us have long since forgotten.

Paul Rosenberg recommends holding a baby every now and then to be reminded of what it’s like to be pure, undamaged and unburdened by the artificial boundaries placed around us throughout our lives. 

He says:

“Babies have strong effects upon us because they reset us mentally; they hearken back to less-damaged states in our lives. They are a touchstone… an untainted comparator… a tool to help calibrate our minds and our sense of life.”

It’s a simple, effective way to regain perspective when we are feeling dark, bitter, or hopeless.

* Hyde In Plain Sight is written by KDXU personality Bryan Hyde. Catch his daily HIPS vignette at 7:50-ish every weekday morning on KDXU and listen to The Bryan Hyde Show weekends at 7 p.m. Saturday and 6 p.m. Sunday nights.