2 years ago, I found myself the victim of a theft.
Not something tangible like a bike (although someone stole that from me too a couple of years ago from my 2nd floor balcony) or my wallet. No, it wasn’t something you could wrap your hands around but it was something that could never be returned. I was robbed of time.
As confusing as this may sound, I was both the victim and the perpetrator of this crime but I never knew it was being committed until it was far too late.
How did this happen? Simple. I spent hours thinking, worrying, stressing over things that were beyond my control. In seeking peace of mind, I found none and in fact, the very act of trying to find peace of mind through thinking ended up sabotaging any hope I had in finding it. Ironic isn’t it?
I spent nights awake, tossing and turning in bed rewinding and replaying events as I thought they would unfold. The more I thought about them, the worse my situation became. It got to a point that I wasn’t sure whether I was experiencing something I thought about the night before or whether I thought about something that I would immediately experience. It was an infinite loop which my mind could not break free of no matter how hard I tried.
Fortunately, I came across some reading material which eventually helped me find the piece of mind I so desperately needed but through the exact opposite means by which I thought I would find it. I think George Lucas was onto something when he said “Let go, Luke.” and that was exactly what I did.
No sooner did I do that than I felt as if a massive weight was lifted off my shoulders. I felt serene. At peace. I realized at once that thinking about things that are beyond our control is pointless and robs us of time. In fact, it has more serious side effects that often manifest physically as well in the form of stress, weakened immune systems, gastro-intestinal disorders, aches & pains, etc.
The next time you find yourself stuck in an infinite loop with thoughts you can’t control, let go. Let go of the thoughts, let go of your need to think. Let go of the guilt you feel for not thinking about it. You’ll be surprised how much better you feel almost instantly.
Cheers,
Michael
Filed under: Spirituality | Tagged: Inner Peace, Serenity, Spirituality
What happens after you let go..I mean, doesn’t the “problem” still exist? I did what you wrote about too. I was destroying myself about not being free of suffering, how I had to stop thinking, and how I wasn’t devoted enough to ever accomplish anything, and that I was seriously running out of time.
Then I was abruptly taken out of my mind by the sounds of a band playing out on a patio near the streets of Toronto, and from that point totally forgot about my problems and experienced immediate bliss.
I continued with this mind-frame..and in the end I just ended up buying whatever I felt, sleeping, playing games, forgetting about project due dates and homework and general responsibilities, because it was all part of my mind’s worrying state of “this is a problem, you must deal with it”. So I ended up procrastinating…and I am no closer than when I started to achieving true peace.
All of this stuff, about resting in the present moment does free myself from my mind, but then I have to come back to reality eventually. So what is the permament solution? Where can I find a source of wisdom that can guide my daily activities? Because my problems can be resolved by forgetting about them, dealing with them, or recognizing they don’t exist and feeling happy about living as a bum (essentially making yourself feel okay/happy about things that are normally depressing).
I hope you found an answer, but in the meantime I’m going to keep trying to stop thinking entirely and hopefully something useful will happen.