I Want to Cut my Ear Off

There is too much data available and too many sensory inputs 

Are we all going ADD or ADHD?

“I want to cut my ear off” is a reference to Vincent van Gogh, the painter who went insane but created the most wonderful works of art. I found the above multimedia creation at the Scrap Exchange in Durham, artist unknown but definitely not Vincent van Gogh. As I stared at the 2 ft by 4ft creation of too many colors, textures and shapes. I found it mesmerizing, disturbing (especially the doll-face) and tremendously intriguing. It overwhelmed me to the point that I had to have it and had to bring it home so that I could spend much more time staring at the details, finding and seeing more and more new little elements within it.
An absolute sensory overload!

This makes me think that the above is a metaphor for our lives today. We have such wonderful access to so much data, so much information and so many experiences that it is easy to go into an overload and feel absolutely ADD or ADHD. I want to do it all and all at once! I want to take all the classes and read all the books and write all the texts and my head is about to explode, luckily I can simply cut off my ear before my head explodes. Numerous sources today promote mindfulness (concentrating on a moment in a calm an organized fashion) as the beast approach to tame the crazy busy life. Others profess that multitasking is a bad idea and we can accomplish more and be more productive when concentrating on one task at a time and completing it with full awareness and engagement. All sound super great!

So how can a person of curiosity and drive manage to sift through all the available information and not be distracted and driven in so many directions at once? How do we disregard a pair of dancing kittens and keep our mind on Game Theory? 

In the centuries past there was a concept of a Renaissance Man (Leonardo da Vinci comes to mind) a person who has many interests and is good at many facets of life. {The modern ADD-syndrome begs me to ask and change the subject to state a grievance … why do we not speak of Renaissance Women?} 

Today there are no Renaissance Man nor Women because to achieve recognizable success one must focus and specialize in the most narrow discipline. Happily, there still exists a concept of Jack of all trades and a master of none. Today I do declare that my goal as I reinvent myself is to become a Jack aka Irena of many traits and a master of none! — I do so declare!

Oh! and I am not planning to cut my ear off — I do declare that, too!