Possum Wisdom

Sometimes when you’re feeling indecisive about something, the best decision is not to make a decision at all, and instead come in for a massage.

Humans are excellent problem solvers.  Sometimes though we come across a problem so big, that our brains simply can’t compute.   Our brains start out going through all the possibilities and they circle round and round the problem until they forget which solutions have already been discounted and mistake them for new ideas.  Sometimes we just can’t think our way out of a problem.

The wisdom of the possum tells us that sometimes when you don’t know what to do, the best option is to do nothing at all. When faced with an insurmountable threat, a possum will shut down it’s nervous system and collapse into a coma like state.  By “playing dead” the threat or predator is fooled into being uninterested in the possum and it will leave. The possum is then free to “come back to life” and go about living as it was before.

Now, I am not suggesting that you will your body into a coma on the massage table! However, the relaxation derived from a massage session can often help to work not unlike a coma, shutting off your brain temporarily with the sure knowledge that you will return to it later.  

Sometimes this “brain vacation” is all you need to stop the frenzied circling and open up your brain to fresh new ideas, as well as fresh blood from improved circulation and the calm that comes from relaxation and tension relief.  

So next time you find yourself working through a seemingly insurmountable problem, think like a possum and make the decision of making no decision at all.