Hollow to the Core

What makes a good speaker? Who would be a good communicator? What should we do to improve our communication skills? Probably these are the some of the most pressing questions that all of us have in our minds. The quest for these answers brought us all here. We’ve been hearing and reading many different answers to these questions. I’m here to give you a totally different answer to these questions – as you can expect from me, it is a bit philosophical. Incidentally, this topic struck me when I was gasping for words last week during my impromptu speech on the table topic. Why did I get into such an embarrassing situation, I thought and reasoned. It was because my mind was filled with thoughts about what was going on at work. I left in hurry for the Toastmaster’s meeting and was in the middle of quite a few things.

When the mind is filled with thoughts and the brain is processing them again and again like a car wheel stuck in mud, newer thoughts cannot come into it like how the car cannot go forward. The mind has to be hollow to get fresh thoughts and to listen to new ideas. We cannot concentrate and be a good listener when the mind is pre-occupied with what it thinks is a more pressing need. Fresh air cannot enter a crowded room and fresh thoughts cannot come to a packed mind. Hollowness is what it takes to be a good, enthusing speaker and a focused, interested listener. When fresh ideas enter the mind, body invigorates and helps retain the child-like look and feel of a person. A brooding mind struggling in the same cycle of thoughts dampens the body and spirit and ages a person.

 

This theory can be easily backed up by several examples. Take for instance the politicians. They are such good speakers. Take the actors. These people take it easy with life and don’t easily get weighed down. They too are good speakers. Many grown-ups who were good speakers when they were kids, turn very silent and keep to themselves. That’s because they accumulate a lot of heavy, unyielding stuff in their minds and cannot easily come out of their thoughts. It is much easier to listen to a jester than it is to listen to the expert in our fields. It is a well-known fact that experts cannot express themselves. That’s why we have all these tech writers in hi-tech areas.

 

Taking time off to loosen up and free the mind of all worries is as important as cramming up the mind with every detail about the world. Making the mind hollow is an art and needs plenty of practice. Not everyone can really unwind himself or herself, even if he or she wants to. That is why things like brightening up the evenings and weekends after tiresome work should be an essential part of life. When I complained to my doctor that I’m unable to sleep during the nights, she asked me the time I return from work. When I said between 9pm and 10pm, her next question was, “Why do offices normally close at 5pm?” I never realized this myself until she told me it is because a person takes a few hours to unwind to rest the mind. Mind is not digital to switch from 1 to 0, she joked.

 

A person with a hollow mind can easily mingle with people, be funny and stay happy. Why do gases and liquids mix, but not solids? It is because of their packing densities. When the mind is packed with prejudices, thoughts, impressions, judgments, etc., it cannot mingle with other minds. When a person does not mingle with others, he or she is often mistaken to be an arrogant or indifferent person, which is not really true in many cases. It is just that the person is having too much in his mind and needs rest, relaxation, and emptiness.

 

For better productivity, employees must be given time to do something different, something which their mind relishes, something that makes the mind hollow. A hollow mind has no distractions and can easily stay focused when it works. We should never let the mind get weighed down by heavy thoughts. Taking it easy, laughing whenever we get a chance, wearing a smile at all times, talking, eating, and living simply are a few things we can do to really keep the mind hollow and the body young. So, in conclusion, my recommendation to all of you is to take it easy with life, keep an open and simple mind and be hollow to the core.