The Art of Noticing

Darin Jawahar

On the Plastic Mind

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Hello Readers- and welcome to my final blog of reflections!

Throughout this series, I’ve had the privilege of delving into not only many of my passions, but my own mind.

And though a lot of what I discussed centered around the intricacies of our mind, and our brains ability to remain neuroplastic, this week, I found myself wondering something slightly different—where did this all begin?

Who am I if not the kid who hides beneath the blankets after my alarm goes off? Who am I if not a reflection of my dreams of falling from tall heights? If not someone who feels fear before dancing on a stage that I set myself up to perform on? If not someone shaped by a society where time feels scarce? If not someone who reaches for his phone before he reaches for himself?

It’s hard to tell where I begin and where everything else ends.

But the more I’ve paid attention, the less my mind feels like something I simply just have. It seems to me like it’s something that has been built. Constructed by my family, my friends, my memories. Not only that, my environment and habits, my temperament, etc. At the end of the day, its all nature and nurture.

And it’s true that neurons that fire together wire together. Our brains do more than just keep our experiences in storage— they reorganize and rewire themselves around it. This happens to be the simple part.

The less simple part is having to actually experience it. Science explains neuroplasticity, but talks so much less about what to do with it.

Nobody is a blank canvas- we are all predisposed with genetics that with awareness, we can recognize. But what we can do is question what is learned and what is not.

I’ve realized I do not need to strip everything about myself away to find some original version of “who I am”. I’ve done that one too many times, and have sent myself into a spiral in doing so. But I’ve realized there there is no original version waiting underneath. Theres just this ongoing process I’m experiencing. A process of exposure, reinforcement, ignorance, and who knows.

Unsure of whether I’ll expand on this series later or perhaps take a new avenue, but I wanted to take a moment to appreciate anyone who has read any of these notices so far.

I’m still figuring it all out, but I am content with that. I enjoy this pattern recognition. And hopefully, with more practice, I can notice more patterns within myself, our society, and the plastic mind.